Experience

Santoro Ltd.

• Design Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Head of Production and Product Development

  • Jan 2006 - Present

  • Broad expertise across numerous product categories including stationery, 3D greetings cards and books, bags, accessories, gift, plush, homewares, collectables, cosmetics, electronics, apparel, and interiors lines. • Lead product development process to devise and refine concepts, source capable suppliers, ensure high quality control and deliver diverse ranges which meet every requirement from aesthetic to financial. • Schedule and execute long-term cross-departmental critical paths for multiple brands and categories. Co-ordinate cross-team collaboration and allocate resources to manage complete product life-cycle. • Analyse sales, monitor trends, compile forecasts, set budgets and strategise targeted growth.• Control purchasing budgets, negotiate competitive rates, optimise margins & manage multi-currency price lists. • Manage supplier portfolio in UK, Europe and Asia with continual relationship, performance, and efficiency evaluations. • Proficient in working with Asian markets including sourcing, negotiation, distance management, travel to trade shows and factories, dispute resolution and monitoring / addressing copyright infringements. • Adept within international logistics management to control schedule of disparate incoming skus to hit required launch availability. Oversee control of rates, payments, schedules, documentation, and customs declarations.• Full QA responsibility with stringent ongoing regulatory awareness to ensure multi-region legislative compliance. • Build and lead strong teams of diverse individuals to meet company’s evolving entrepreneurial business objectives. Show less

• Production Manager

  • Jul 2003 - Jan 2006

  • Demonstrated business acumen and the capability to action change through implementing departmental organisational reform.• Excelled at improving business flow across product development and creative teams to deliver significant process efficiencies.

• Production Controller

  • Apr 2002 - Jul 2003

  • Initiated and implemented cross-departmental critical paths to improve range execution to time and cost targets.• Utilised resulting increased capacity to diversify and grow into wider categories including bespoke stationery ranges.

• Production Assistant

  • Oct 2001 - Apr 2002

  • Instrumental in modernising how products were conceptualised, developed, sourced, and produced.