Vice President, Strategy & Commercial Finance

The Vice President, Strategy & Commercial Finance leads the Company's strategic planning, business development finance, M&A functions.  The VP of Strategy designs and manages all strategic planning activities, drives innovation, and monitors performance of key initiatives. This includes directing the construction of the 5-year strategic plan and detailed annual operating plans and ensuring connectivity with financial targets. The role works closely with the executive leadership team to facilitate the planning process — conducting an annual environmental scan of industry, consumer, and economic trends; organizing and facilitating strategic planning sessions; and constructing concise deliverables to articulate the resulting strategy.  Additionally, the VP of Strategy serves as a key financial and analytical partner on inorganic growth opportunities, commercial deal structures, and strategic partnerships, working in close collaboration with Finance, Operations, and Business Development leadership.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Planning & Innovation

• Design and execute the annual strategic planning process, including developing calendars and ensuring alignment with budgeting and planning cycles
• Facilitate strategic planning sessions with the Senior Leadership Team to deliver a 5-year strategy
• Prepare and present an annual environmental scan of industry and markets, including competition, prospective brands, and growth opportunities in adjacent categories and channels
• Develop processes and tools to manage the portfolio of key strategic initiatives, including core reporting tools and an appropriate update cadence with the Senior Leadership Team
• Drive prioritization within the Strategic Initiatives Portfolio to address dependencies and resource constraints
• Design and implement capabilities for identifying, testing, evaluating, and launching innovation within the Company
• Facilitate development, execution, and monitoring of the Sales and Operations Planning process

Commercial Finance & RFP Support

• Partner with Business Development to lead financial modeling for RFP responses, including pro forma development, scenario analysis, and bid economics
• Translate complex financial structures into clear narratives and assumptions for internal review and client-facing submissions
• Establish a repeatable, scalable framework for RFP financial modeling and analysis to improve speed and consistency across BD pursuits
• Assist with evaluation of strategic partnership opportunities, licensing arrangements, and other potential growth vehicles
• Collaborate with Operations, Legal, and Finance to advance partnerships from concept through execution

M&A Support

• Support the executive team in identifying and evaluating potential acquisition targets
• Lead financial and strategic due diligence workstreams, including market sizing, synergy modeling, and integration planning considerations
• Develop target screening criteria aligned to the Company's strategic priorities, and maintain an active pipeline of evaluated opportunities

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, CERTIFICATIONS

• MBA strongly preferred
• At least 10–12 years of progressive leadership experience in strategy, corporate development, or finance; experience in retail, dining, or travel retail preferred
• Prior exposure to M&A processes, RFP-driven business development, or investment banking / management consulting a strong differentiator

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong business and financial acumen, with demonstrated ability to build and pressure-test complex financial models (RFP, M&A, partnership)
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting to executive leadership, boards, and external partners
• Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills, with a willingness to engage with the details of complex problems and drive creative solutions
• Intellectual curiosity and the ability to serve as a thought leader on business trends, competitive dynamics, and growth opportunities
• Proven ability to lead, inspire, and engage peers and senior leaders across the organization
• Superior organizational, interpersonal, and collaborative skills to work effectively across internal functions and with external stakeholders
• Strong creative thinking skills with the ability to operate in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment
• Excellent strategic agility with a track record of designing and executing against strategies
• Proven ability to develop new concepts from inception to completion — including brands, commercial deals, partnerships, and process design
• Ability to travel periodically

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