Worth Darling

After nearly 20 years working in large global corporations — managing significant budgets and teams, leading global programs, and gaining P&L experience — I made a deliberate move into a founder-led environment. The goal: get closer to the business, take on direct responsibility for paid media and acquisition marketing, and build my GM acumen.

After years building the capabilities that underpinned Vans’ digital business, I was handed the P&L: a nine-figure North American eCommerce operation spanning website, app, email, SMS, and loyalty. The business was navigating a period of brand and product transition, and my job was to keep transforming the channel while operating through the headwinds. • Inherited and evolved a team of 20+ across site, email, SMS, loyalty, and digital operations — investing in internal talent, hiring for key skills, and restructuring the organization for greater efficiency without sacrificing capability • Executed a website redesign in 6 months in partnership with Vans EMEA, delivering a 5–10% lift in revenue per visit and elevating brand presentation • Turned email and SMS into the strongest-comping traffic source in the business, outperforming all other channels by double digits YoY while the broader business declined • Grew loyalty enrollments double digits against falling traffic; program contributed 5%+ in incremental digital revenue at a lower cost base • Consolidated vendors and optimized shipping operations, delivering meaningful cost savings while maintaining consumer SLAs

Following demonstrated results in omnichannel and retail innovation, I was moved into a broader role centralizing all brand-facing digital capability ownership: eCommerce, app, loyalty, CRM, MarTech, omnichannel, and enterprise technology. This was an equal parts strategic and project-based role sitting between the brand’s commercial ambitions and VF’s shared technology organization, requiring as much influence and alignment as technical delivery. • Delivered the new Vans OTW website in under 6 months: a digital-first DTC platform for the brand’s pinnacle product line, coordinating a broad stakeholder group, making a critical director hire under significant time pressure, and empowering that person to deliver • Overhauled the Vans Family loyalty program end-to-end: introducing points-based rewards, native app commerce, free shipping for members, and a simplified enrollment experience — driving double-digit enrollment growth, increased purchase frequency among members, and helping eCommerce hit its annual repeat-consumer sales target • Launched SMS and app push as net-new marketing channels; SMS scaled to the fastest-growing channel at Vans, with up to 30x revenue per send versus email • Rolled out single sign-on across 10K+ retail associates, streamlining access to digital tools and improving workforce efficiency; this established the template that other VF brands then followed

Joined Vans to bring a digital transformation expertise into a fast-growing DTC organization, spanning retail innovation, omnichannel fulfillment, and store technology. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, I put my hand up to lead the omnichannel response, pulling together a cross-functional squad across Vans and VF to rapidly scale ship-from-store across a closed retail fleet. What started as a crisis response became a core revenue stream. • Scaled ship-from-store across 500+ stores in North America at the onset of the pandemic, followed by BOPIS and a curbside pilot; omnichannel grew to represent 15%+ of total digital sales and became a core margin lever • Led Foot The Bill: a pandemic-era community giveback initiative that merged Vans’ customization platform with small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19 closures; conceived and launched in under one week, generating significant earned media, brand goodwill, and meaningful financial relief for small business owners • Developed a measurement framework quantifying the role of physical stores in driving digital growth, adopted globally by VF and embedded in the CAPEX scorecard used to approve new store investments • Led a store technology stabilization effort following a major SAP implementation, establishing new brand-to-IT governance processes that sustainably reduced incident volume • Upon joining Vans, was selected to represent DTC on the Skate POD: a cross-functional team tasked with reigniting the brand’s core skateboarding business; earned the trust of an internal skate community that are fierce brand guardians, and aligned commercial and brand stakeholders around a DTC strategy that connected the brand’s high-volume DTC business with an authentic skate focus

A brief internal move into adidas’ newly formed employee experience team, applying consumer-side thinking — journey mapping, experience design, voice-of-consumer — to the internal workplace. Left to relocate to California and join Vans.

After delivering the Originals flagship concept in a previous role, I was asked to establish the model for executing large-scale store concept programs across the adidas brand, and given a team and multi-million dollar budget to do it. The scope expanded well beyond a single concept: women’s store formats, sports-focused concepts, and a broad innovation and technology testing agenda running in parallel. • Led the launch of the adidas 5th Avenue NYC flagship — 45,000 sq ft, the company’s largest store at the time and winner of Drapers “Best Use of Technology In-Store” 2017 — and the “Stadium” global retail concept, which was subsequently rolled out worldwide • Built a global in-store experience team from scratch: defined the remit, recruited for a scope that hadn’t existed before, and led the team to deliver across concept development and technology innovation • Held multi-million dollar budget responsibility spanning new store concept development, retail technology test programs, and the operation of a centralized digital signage network — including content management, hardware sourcing and logistics, and IT support across the global retail fleet • Presented the digital retail strategy to the adidas Executive Board • Partnered closely with APAC markets on retail technology research and innovation, traveling extensively across the region, visiting stores, and working directly with local vendors to build an innovation pipeline

Having helped establish the business case for omnichannel in my previous role, I moved into a director position within the global sales organization to bring those concepts to life. Led a team of four in a startup-style incubation model, validating capabilities through pilots before approving for global rollout. • Launched foundational omnichannel capabilities including click & collect, ship from store, endless aisle, and RFID — each meeting or exceeding business case targets and approved for global rollout • Built and globally scaled the store associate mobile platform, equipping global retail staff with centrally managed iOS devices to enhance the consumer experience and streamline operations • Led the Retail Innovation Community and Technology Trial Store program, scouting, testing, and scaling emerging retail technologies including early applications of beacons and NFC

My entry point into retail after five years in audit, joining a newly formed global retail center of excellence with a mandate to centralize best practices and drive profitability across a decentralized global store fleet. Came in as a strategist/project manager and earned increasing responsibility by delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives that required bridging the commercial and brand organizations. • Led the development of the adidas Originals flagship store concept: earned the trust of a fiercely protective streetwear and creative community while aligning a diverse set of commercial and brand stakeholders around a shared vision; the result was a brand-led concept that exceeded its 4-wall targets, rolled out to global key cities, and established the blueprint for the adidas brand flagship program that followed • Built the business case for adidas’ global omnichannel program and piloted foundational capabilities, laying the groundwork for a multi-year transformation of the consumer experience • Developed and ran the company’s global retail market intelligence function, providing data and insights that informed global decision-making • Supported the Chief Retail Officer on executive presentations and the development of adidas’ global retail strategy

Two years conducting audits across 10+ countries spanning Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East. More than a technical role: it was an education in how a global business actually works, and the mindset I carried into everything that followed.

Performed audits across government, technology, and manufacturing sectors while earning my Chartered Accountant designation. The financial acumen and critical thinking developed here shaped how I approach problems to this day.