Venkat Raj Email and Phone Number

• Lead Woven Sourcing team to develop and implement sourcing strategy capturing Vendor-level Capacity, Cost, and Agility needs, engaging Vendor and Fabric mill partnership to develop the right product at the right price.• Collaborate with Design and Buying teams in developing the product portfolio with an optimal mix of Innovation and product combinations. Align with Buying and map the product deliveries based on Raw-material lead times, Product Complexity, and Vendor capacity management. • Benchmark Vendor partners and raw-material suppliers based on Capablity, Capacity, Competitive pricing, Innovation, Delivery performances, and Sustainability. Establish guardrails and apply merit-based mechanisms for order placements and track vendor performances. • Developed a diverse manufacturing source base comprising Full-package products and built strategic partnerships with End-to-End ownership of the goods enabling speed and mitigating risks• Lead Agility-focused initiatives for quick launch of key strategic products and chase orders. Instituted Agility model at key vendors for Seasonal Denim bottoms with lead times of PO to Delivery at 28 days.• Drive Economic excellence- Negotiate best-in-class terms with vendor, and raw-material suppliers and develop mutually-beneficial, long-term supplier relationships.

Head of Operations for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India manufacturing facilities, accountable for -• Led business functions- Operations, Product Development, Sourcing, Quality, and Business Development, delivering business stability and growth in terms of profitability over 32%• Modernization of equipment and machineries and deliver products augmenting the Organizational goal of world-class manufacturing. Re-engineer manufacturing process, optimization of resources and bring the culture of accountability to reduce production seconds • Integrate Sustainability best practices into decision-making and business activities making Epic Designers in becoming a truly sustainable organization.

One of the most versatile, high-fashion denim manufacturing company based in Bangladesh supplying Denim bottoms and Jackets to Fashion brands in Europe like Zara, Best Sellers, NEXT, Celio, ASOS, • Lead team of passionate, young denim team to produce 12K units/ day for high fashion brands in Europe. Complete ownership of product R&D, production management and profitability of the unit. • Mentor and coach Sustainable practices in operations, Denim Expert is the first Organization in Bangladesh to sign up and become a contributor for SAC, ZDHC. Recently partnering with the United Nations for climate control. • Up-gradation of the existing facility with state of the art equipment and best practices in the field of finishing. • Building the best in class effluent recycling unit where we are aiming to reuse 100% of water with ZLD.

• Responsible and accountable for Finish development and bulk execution of >57M units from South-Asia region• Recruit, Manage and Motivate a team of Finish Engineers in South Asia, lead the team and engage them on product development, establishing production tolerances and ensuring the production units meet established standards• Engage with cross-functional heads in the region and drive behaviors which collectively deliver results for team success. • Vendor selection based on evaluation and analyzing his capability, capacity, and performance to meet business objectives. • Establish best practices across manufacturing locations enabling vendors to deliver product meeting LS&Co standards• Drive successful innovations in denim and non-denim finishes.• Lead Chemical management program in partnership with vendors. Train and help vendor identify priority chemicals and derive a plan for elimination or substitution leading to Organizational objective of ZDHC by 2020.• Partner with Core team of Screened Chemistry to identify best-in-class chemicals, develop continuous improvement tool and identify R&D opportunities to replace Hazardous chemicals. • Pilot Screened Chemistry in the region and partner with Chemical suppliers, vendor and third-party assessor to ensure all chemicals used in LS&Co products are screened, assessed and color-coder Red-Yellow-Green (phase-out the Red’s). Ensure current product requirements of quality, aesthetics, and cost are maintained. • Recycle and Re-use (R&R): Partner with the vendor in providing technical guidelines to help them recycle and re-use their water.• Water

• Drive bulk production scalability and execution seamlessly in the region.• Influence major suppliers to adopt new technologies to improve product consistency, quality, and costs. • Innovate new technologies, new finish techniques to simplify the production process. Usage of foam in bleaching, dyeing, laser to simulate the random bleach look, Water Less washes to name a few…. • Pre-Production Management - Provide input during the proto/new finish development stage. Drive risk analysis meetings to determine product-specific risks and re-engineer product/process to mitigate risk.• Establishing processes and procedures that provide new and existing factories to be effectively transformed into high-performing and reliable sources in line with LS&CO requirements.• Execute projects to maintain & upgrade vendor quality level.• Ensuring product safety awareness across the source base and internal teams.• Responsible for periodical finish quality performance analysis of the source base and review with management. Derive & Drive corrective action plan as necessary to address issues.• Work on regional and country-specific projects in alignment with business objectives• Recipient of “LS&Co Excellence Award” and “KOSHLAND AWARD” for the work conducted for Greenpeace Implementation in South Asia Source base.

MNC with operations in Bangladesh and Jordan, Golden Wear is a 100% bottoms unit and one of the major suppliers for Levi’s, Pepe Jeans, Kohl’s, JAG, JCP, Paco and Alpha• Set up and managed one of the biggest denim processing units in Jordan, having a production capacity of 12000 pair of denim bottoms per day. • Production planning, prioritizing and commissioning of orders to have shipments as per schedule.• Review new trends in fashion, innovating new formulations, developments, and application in bulk production.• Troubleshooting, experimenting and making wash as a value addition to the garment.• Ensuring the bulk productions are matching to the approved target shades.• Closely monitoring the procedures of fabric shrinkage, blankets, first bath submission and taking approvals and incorporating the same in bulk production.• Ensuring the produced garments pass the necessary garment tests• Theoretical and practical application of chemicals and getting the optimum efficacy of the chemical used.• Recruitment and training of the workforce.• Meeting and ensuring the compliance of the plant to the safety standards acceptable to all major buyers.• A senior member of AATCC.• Running a 1500 m3 per day capacity effluent water recycling unit designed and installed by Dorr-Oliver Ltd and Permionics membranes. Treating the effluent chemically, biologically and recovering 70 – 75 % freshwater constantly through the osmosis process.

• A Hi-Tech Factory having production capacity for 6000pcs of Bottoms in collaboration with Rica Lewis of Italy. • Clients included JNY, Express, Guess, Rica-Lewis, K-Mart.• Managed a production capacity of 2000 denim bottoms and 6000pcs non-denim • Responsible for Sample development, wash approvals and implementation in bulk production.• Responsible for shade-shrinkage analysis and approvals.

• Managed the capacity of 7 washing machines and 12 driers to produce 20000 garments a day and set-up production a unit with a capacity of 1500 pair of jeans per day.• Product development from the initial stage, getting wash approvals and implementing in the bulk production.• Established a competent and reliable supplier base of chemicals through due diligence after conducting comparison tests.