Mona G.

Overseeing Merchandising & Product focusing on product strategy, hyper growth and best in class product innovation across all categories.

Direct end-to-end merchandising and product strategy for men’s apparel brand, reporting directly to founders with full P&L accountability. Grew the business 5x by shaping and driving product strategy Oversee complete product lifecycle—from concept and material selection to design, vendor development, production, packaging, and market launch. Manage global team of 13 across US and China. Conduct in-person presentations and relationship-building with key accounts. Integrate consumer and market insights to consistently meet sell-through targets. • Defined and implemented Product Strategy to establish product DNA, segmentation, and merchandising principles, enabling consistent execution and market differentiation. • Strengthened competitive positioning by expanding retail and ecommerce footprint, doubling SKU productivity, and increasing gross margin 10 points through strategic assortment optimization, vendor management, and cost control. • Improved innovation access and lead times and enhanced product quality by expanding sourcing network from 3 China-based vendors to 10 vetted partners across China, Southeast Asia, India, North Africa, Central America, and US.

Led merchandising strategy and leveraged market trends, competitive intelligence, and brand positioning to maintain competitive advantage and identify innovative product opportunities. Optimized global vendor matrix, negotiated pricing, and cultivated high-performance partnerships that delivered best-in-class innovation, speed, and value. Built and scaled team of 35 across domestic and international locations. • Spearheaded continuous process improvements, reducing product development cycle time by 30% while lowering costs and improving delivery times. • Consolidated vendor base, improving quality, cost control, and speed-to-market while expanding access to factory-floor innovations. • Established and executed seasonal merchandising and product strategies, balancing design, price point, and innovation to deliver differentiated, high-performing assortments.

Oversaw product development lifecycle and product strategy for all branded and private label businesses. Managed global team of 8. Led quality assurance, regulatory and social compliance, and factory audits across global vendor network. Partnered with department heads to align processes and improve workflow efficiency. Created and managed corporate product development calendar. • Reduced cycle time, controlled costs, and improved on-time delivery performance by establishing operational best practices with domestic and offshore partners. • Reinforced brand DNA and trend leadership by strategically sourcing yarns, trims, and packaging to meet customer-specific requirements and exceed quality benchmarks. • Supported pre- and post-acquisition integration during Renfro’s purchase of K.Bell (2013), preparing KPIs, SOPs, and operational efficiencies. Led seamless integration of select Renfro systems, ERP/PLM platforms, and vendor relationships while maintaining K.Bell’s unique market proposition.

Promoted to lead all design and development for BCBGMAXAZRIA, Max Azria, and Hervé Léger brands. Oversaw 210+ in-house and overseas employees, including design, patternmaking, and sample room teams. Delivered 200+ monthly styles from concept through salesman sample, Directed operational strategy, workflow optimization, and system implementations to drive speed, quality, and efficiency across global teams. Headed all in-house sampling, including pattern makers, cutting room, appliqué, and embroidery. Reported regularly to founders and C-suite executives. • Defined and executed operational strategies and micro-processes that increased throughput and ensured consistent delivery of departmental milestones. • Managed production of 1,800 salesman samples and 200 design packages per month, integrating domestic and overseas development for multiple product categories. Spearheaded all processes spanning research, market analysis, product development, sampling, and cross-functional handoffs. • Built and directed operations team for corporate marketing department, establishing workflows, training programs, and productivity metrics from ground up.

Directed operational functions for department, including scheduling, process engineering, recruitment, training, and oversight of domestic and overseas sampling. Managed in-house product development for trims, appliqués, embroidery, and garments across hard and soft wovens, knitwear, denim, and dresses. Led creation of departmental systems, sample library systems and facilities, and cross-functional process integration. • Established company’s first dedicated Product Development department, implementing end-to-end processes spanning in-house and overseas production. • Built and organized sample library housing 50,000+ inspiration pieces and developed training programs to onboard and upskill team members. • Designed and rolled out cross-department workflows that streamlined design-to-development handoffs.