Sarah Cumming Email & Phone Number

Squamish, Bc, Ca

New York, United States

- Lead the financial planning and analysis function, driving strategic forecasting and in-depth performance analysis to inform C-suite decision making- Lead annual and quarterly plans and forecasts, monitor and act upon variance on a weekly basis; monitored KPIs include bookings, revenue, COGS %, shipping rates, unit economics and contribution margin- Identified and executed $500k in annual savings by identifying and correcting excess recurring costs and mis-used discount codes- Democratized financial data to be accessible and live by working with the Analytics team to build out dashboards connected to Netsuite data; dashboards reduced the team’s work by ~30 hours per month- Optimized pricing strategies for revenue growth by building a robust margin analysis tool for the complex modular furniture business; aligned target margins and definitions across the organization- Maximized recovery rates on Recommerce business by identifying transactions below target recovery rates and reallocating between partners (Floorfound, Rush, Sharetown, Plenish)- Project manage cross-functional projects, successfully completing every project on-time- Supervise FP&A Manager and Canada Operations Manager and work cross-functionally with sourcing, planning, marketing, operations, product, systems, engineering and accounting teams.

New York, United States

Led the company’s first international expansion by launching the brand in the Canadian market. Held full P&L responsibility for the country and oversaw the operations team, ensuring successful market entry and growth. Project managed the end-to-end launch of a localized site and assortment, built and oversaw localized operations, negotiated all contracts (warehouse, shipping carrier, PR firm) and partnerships, and strategized the brand's growth.

Vancouver, Canada Area

Introduced structure, systems, and reporting to support the quickly growing non-profit on a mission to create the best parks system in the world. Oversaw operations, HR, IT, security, and controller functions, including accounting, audit, budgeting, and financial reporting and presentation to the board. - Enabled $3M and $2M crowdfunding campaigns to purchase and protect land in Princess Louisa Inlet and West Ballenas Island, B.C. Supervised collection of contributions, tax receipting and audits- Selected & implemented Salesforce as the CRM; earned grant to support the build out of its functionality to issue tax receipts. Continued to build out the functionality to support business needs- Created systems to support complex allocations of payroll and expenses, restricted fund tracking and calculations of deferred revenue recognition. Authored annual budgets and financial statements and presented them to the board- Built and mentored an impactful team of smart, passionate nature enthusiasts.

Vancouver, Canada Area

Introduced vision, strategy, planning, financial controls and reporting to guide the 14-year old company into a profitable and sustainable financial position. Reported directly to President and founders. Direct reports included Customer Service Manager, Wholesale Sales Manager, and Marketing Manager.- Increased net profit/sales ratio by 16 points through development cost reductions, planning and operational efficiency improvements- Forecasted and accomplished aggressive growth plans, including doubling revenue (23-31% annual growth rates). Authored annual budgets and monitored monthly. Outperformed every authored budget- Introduced visibility to company performance by deeply analyzing financials and revamping company-wide reports to ensure their usefulness, ease of creation, and accuracy- Introduced formal inventory planning process, optimizing all product buys to maximize sales and minimize excess inventory- Reduced order fulfillment costs by ~12% by restructuring fulfillment processes between order entry, customer service, and the 3PLs to be more efficient- Selected and implemented a sales order management system, JOOR, and went live in 2 weeks, implemented seamlessly across 9 North American sales agencies in time for seasonal tradeshows- Mentored and expanded a high-performing team.

Vancouver, Canada Area

See above.

Greater New York City Area

Built and supervised operations and accounting departments to support the quick growth of a premium and cult-followed high-end denim brand’s retail and wholesale businesses. Reported to President of the venture capital firm. Direct reports included Accountant and Operations Manager.- Selected and implemented an ERP system, RLM Apparel Software, and went live in 2 months. Created all EDI trading relationships with majors: Neiman’s, Saks, Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, Macy’s- Created visibility to company performance via the introduction of monthly financial statements and detailed cash flow forecast, sales order booking performance reports, and inventory positions- Owned product buys and allocation- Created model to plan all raw material requirements and inventory positions from vendors globally: hundreds of skus of piece goods, pocketing, hardware, zippers, and trim- Oversaw fulfillment, allocation and customer service of all wholesale and retail orders from New York factory and 3PL facility in Los Angeles, CA. Monitored production of domestic factories and dye houses.

Greater New York City Area

Introduced strategic planning and financial best practice initiatives, and oversaw finances of the quickly growing brand.- Created gross margin and budget variance transparency by initiating and authoring consistent, useful reporting- Eliminated lost sales due to inventory shortages by introducing a planning model that used historical data, future projections and open-to-buy methodology to determine timely product buys- Authored company's Private Placement Memorandum (PPM).Flud Watches was a subsidiary of Karmaloop Inc.

Greater New York City Area

Launched a showroom representing active lifestyle brands from around the world.- Represented showroom brands at tradeshows in NYC and Las Vegas, including AIAIAI headphones, Holden outerwear, Sundek swimwear, Cadence, and other cult-followed brands- Negotiated creative solutions for international brands, including in-house distribution- Identified product styles intended for the European market that could be expanded in the Americas to specialized men's boutiques- Landed Sundek swimwear at Saks 5th Avenue kids and many new boutiques in the Northeast territory.

Greater New York City Area

Improved the financial health of a contemporary artist’s wholesale art supply business while streamlining operations.- Instituted formal financial controls, procedures, operational budgeting and reporting, providing the owner with visibility to the business’s performance and identifying areas for growth- Secured a $50,000 line of credit in a tight financial market, and actively managed the company’s cash. Also managed payroll, accounts receivable, and accounts payable- Reduced on-hand inventory value by 50% with a zero-stock out requirement by creating a planning model that evaluated production lead-time, minimum order quantities, and sales data- Negotiated partnership contracts for the well-known contemporary artist.

New York, United States

Promoted to hold responsibility for company-wide gross profit on $20 million in revenue.- Simplified retail product buys despite explosive growth by building a 6-month flow open-to-buy retail planning model that matched budgets, historical sales data, and constraints to determine product buys and allocation by SKU across all product categories (Apparel, Toys, 3rd Party Goods)- Saved approximately $200k in inventory costs per year by developing and implementing a fact-based production planning methodology to correct an expensive legacy of production overspending- Visited apparel and toy factories in Southern China to improve performance of NY-based production, merchandising, and design teams- Improved interconnectivity, accuracy, and transparency through the co-selection of implementation of a $500k company-wide vertical software investment, Simparel.

Greater New York City Area

Oversaw and made more formal all facets of operations: accounting, finance, HR, legal, production, PR, and marketing of very quickly growing cult-followed and industry leader. Direct reports included Production Manager, PR Manager, Marketing Manager, Buyer, and Executive Assistant. - Decentralized decision-making and created manager accountability by creating departmental budgets and allowing managers to operate more independently- Scaled the team to support the quickly growing business- Expanded operational infrastructure to accommodate the hiring of 50 employees in the main corporate office and an increase from $3 million to $20 million in sales.

Greater New York City Area

Responsible for a product line of over 100 products representing $30 million in sales revenue for a leading direct marketing company generating sales of $550 million annually. Planned, organized, and controlled the products through product life cycles to optimize profit and meet corporate growth goals.- Improved an inventory model to more accurately control inventory and forecast shipments for a complex program; managed all inventory through each product’s life cycle, sourcing it globally- Forecast sales and advertising quarterly, worked directly with Senior Product Manager in planning advertising spending for the jewelry division; designed a template to present the jewelry division’s marketing strategy.

Greater New York City Area

Sold skateboards, snowboards, and lifestyle apparel. Merchandised the store and its windows to create enticing product displays. Designed and assembled skateboard setups, with a specialty in custom grip tape designs.

Bs, Finance, Marketing

Mba, Strategy, Business Analytics, Accounting, Social Innovation & Impact

Activities and Societies: Vice-Chair, Judiciary Committee