About the Role:
This is a foundational leadership role. You will build and own Planning and Procurement as a single, standardized shared-service function serving every TWS brand-OluKai, melin, Roark, and Amble. Your mandate is threefold:
- Own demand, supply, and buy planning across all four brands, with real accountability for the inventory risk that comes with it.
- Consolidate vendor sourcing, contract negotiation, and inbound logistics into one procurement function with consistent freight and landed-cost discipline.
- Build the AI-enabled systems, reporting, and team this function needs to run on real-time data rather than manual, single-person processes.
You'll report directly to the President and partner with Production, Operations, Finance, and brand leadership to drive adoption and deliver measurable results on inventory turns, on-time delivery, and working capital. This is a hands-on leadership role-you'll set the strategy but also roll up your sleeves in the early stages.
Expect this to be genuinely hands-on for roughly the first two to three quarters - you're personally running planning and buy decisions while Planning, Procurement, and Inbound Logistics get staffed. As the team comes online you shift from doing the work to running the function, but final sign-off on major buy commitments, vendor contracts, and inventory-risk calls stays with you regardless of team size.
Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Supply Chain Strategy
- Define and own the TWS Planning & Procurement roadmap across all four brands, including systems, tooling, and demand-planning methodology.
- Translate brand and business needs into a standardized planning process with clear service levels and measurable outcomes.
- Govern buy, vendor, and inventory-risk standards across all brands and systems.
- Report supply chain performance and KPIs directly to the President.
Team Building
- Build the Planning & Procurement team from the ground up-define roles, hire talent, and establish team structure (Planning, Procurement, Inbound Logistics).
- Recruit, develop, and retain talent as the function scales from a lean starting point to full operating capacity.
- Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, and cross-brand partnership.
Planning & Buy Execution
- Own demand, supply, and NPI (new product introduction) planning execution across OluKai, melin, Roark, and Amble.
- Take direct accountability for buy decisions and the inventory risk that comes with them-sell-through and turns are your numbers.
- Own the monthly S&OP cadence: one operating forecast, PO releases sequenced to lead time, and a shared scorecard on OTIF, inventory, and cash.
Procurement & Vendor Management
- Own vendor sourcing, contract negotiation, and supplier performance across all four brands.
- Own inbound logistics-freight, customs, and receipt timing-as part of one connected planning-to-delivery process.
- Build the supplier-performance and landed-cost discipline the function needs to scale.
Systems & Reporting
- Select and implement the demand/buy planning system this function runs on, and own its rollout.
- Build a real-time reporting and dashboarding layer so planning data doesn't depend on any one person or manual file.
- Partner with TWS's Data & AI and IT teams to ensure planning systems integrate cleanly with the broader data platform.
AI & Intelligent Automation
- Make AI the default way this function reports and decides-not a bolt-on. Replace the pasted-screenshot, one-person-inbox status quo with a planning layer anyone can query.
- Lead the application of AI to demand forecasting, buy recommendations, and exception flagging-surfacing what needs a decision instead of burying it in a spreadsheet.
- Partner with TWS's Data & AI function to bring Claude-powered tools-automated vendor analysis, inventory alerts, forecast variance detection-directly into the planning and procurement workflow.
- Own the outcome, not just the pilot: AI adoption in this function is measured by hours of manual reporting eliminated and decisions made faster, not by tools evaluated.
- Stay current on AI/LLM developments relevant to supply chain and bring them into the function proactively.
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Partner with the VP of Production on long-range and capacity forecasting.
- Partner with Finance/FP&A on fiscal planning, forecast reconciliation, and budget governance.
- Respect the operating boundary with the VP of Operations-outbound logistics, 3PL, warehousing, and distribution remain with Operations.
Budget & Financial Accountability
- Own an operating budget covering inbound freight/3PL costs tied to procurement, planning systems and tooling spend, and Planning/Procurement/Inbound Logistics headcount - with spending authority (to be determined) before it requires President sign-off.
- Partner with Finance/FP&A on the broader fiscal plan and forecast reconciliation (above),but hold direct P&L accountability for how the operating budget is spent - this is a budget you run, not one you just input into.
Requirements & Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
- 10+ years of experience in supply chain, demand planning, or procurement leadership, with at least 3 years managing a team.
- Deep expertise in demand and buy planning for apparel, footwear, or consumer product brands with wholesale and DTC distribution.
- Vendor sourcing and contract negotiation experience across multiple factories and regions.
- Demonstrated ability to take real inventory-risk ownership-not just produce a forecast for someone else to act on.
- Experience selecting or implementing a demand-planning or buying system.
- Direct, hands-on experience using AI or automation to cut manual work out of a planning or reporting process-this is a named priority for the role, not a nice-to-have.
- Excellent communicator who can present to senior leadership and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
- Experience with buy governance, vendor performance, and inventory controls in a multi-brand or multi-business-unit environment.
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, business, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Trade compliance and customs expertise - import/export regulations, HTS classification, tariff exposure, and duty mitigation - for a multi-brand apparel/footwear business sourcing from overseas factories.
- Working knowledge of quantitative forecasting methods (statistical/time-series modeling, demand sensing, or similar) and hands-on comfort with SQL and BI/reporting tools - this matters given the real-time-reporting and AI mandate.
- Track record leading organizational or process transformation, not just running a steady-state supply chain function - this is a build-from-scratch mandate, which is a different skill than optimizing an existing one.
- Demonstrated experience operating at comparable scale: annual PO/purchase volume, SKU count, number of vendors/factories managed, and team size at prior companies.
Preferred
- Experience with LLMs or AI tools in production (Claude/Anthropic API or similar) applied to forecasting, reporting, or vendor analysis.
- Background in consumer brands, footwear/apparel, or omni-channel distribution.
- Experience with ERP platforms (Full Circle, NetSuite, or similar) and integrated planning modules.
- Track record of building a planning/procurement function from early stage to operational maturity.
SYSTEMS YOU'LL INHERIT OR HELP SELECT
- ERP / source system: Full Circle
- Data & reporting platform: Snowflake, HEX (TWS's shared data platform)
- Demand & buy planning platform: to be selected-this is one of your first decisions
- Version control / collaboration: standard TWS tooling
Location & Office Structure:
This is an in-office hybrid position, minimum of 4 days per week, in Irvine, CA and subject to change without notice as per company guidelines.
Compensation: The salary range for this position is $200,000 to $250,000 plus opportunity for annual bonus; salary is based on the experience that you bring to the position.
Benefits and Perks:
- Complimentary chef prepared breakfast and lunch provided Monday - Thursday
- Generous product gift program and all brand discounts
- Company bonus program
- 5 year and 10 year Milestone Anniversary travel gifts
- Medical, Dental, Vision insurance in accordance with plan guidelines
- Company paid life insurance in accordance with plan guidelines
- 401k with employer match in accordance with plan guidelines
- 15 Days of PTO accrued annually, plus one additional day of PTO every year on your anniversary, and 3 Floating Holidays per year
- Paid beach and giveback days, bi-annual team building events and other in-person celebrations
- Work with talented and great people who share a love of lifestyle brands
