Director, Category Management Sea

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

- Lead and drive the Southeast Asia category management team and function inline with seasonal Go-To-Market (GTM) milestone deliverables. Own the regional category strategies and drive implementation through the development of SouthEast Asia (SEA) country specific ranges, pricing strategy and expansion opportunities within the wider Emerging Markets (EM) framework.
- Drive cross-functional Marketing execution ensuring one category voice reaches the consumer today, tomorrow and in the future.
- Key Responsibilities:

- Strategic Leadership
- Develop and implement SEA strategies that integrate local consumer insights, market trends, and country-specific dynamics while aligning with global and EM directives.
- Serve as a local expert, embedding SEA-specific opportunities, consumer insights, and trends into regional strategies.
- Seasonal Range Planning & GTM Execution
- Lead a team of Category Managers to create seasonal GTM plans and regional ranges aligned with growth goals.
- Design compelling range and concept selections for SEA, balancing brand priorities, commercial needs, and local market nuances.
- Oversee the GTM process, ensuring seamless communication across EM and SEA country teams and integrating channel inputs.
- Enhance commercial outcomes by driving sell-in processes, focusing on key accounts.
- Planning & Insights
- Develop and govern seasonal range plans for SEA across countries, channels, and segments while ensuring alignment with EM strategies and providing insights to the EM Analytics team.
- Partner with SEA Brand Finance to align Seasonal business planning targets (Net Sales, Volumes, Go-In-Margin) and drive cross-category alignment and actions.
- Track Sell-Through and Sell-In performance, generate reports, and deliver actionable insights for strategic decision-making.
- Business Development & Projects
- Identify and drive growth opportunities in collaboration with country and channel teams.
- Lead or contribute to initiatives aligned with SEA priorities and business growth initiatives, such as Responsiveness, Value Consumer, and Local Production.
- Leadership & Culture
- Cultivate a high-performance culture, fostering engagement and professional development.
- Set clear targets for direct reports and provide ongoing coaching for growth and improvement.
- Key Relationships:

- EM BU
- Brand Activation, CTC, countries Brand teams
- MOPS, PMO
- Demand Planning, SCM, Finance (marketing ROI)
- Sales (all channels)
- Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

- Strong understanding of local markets’ consumers, accounts, economic environment and commercial needs.
- Distinct track record of success in GTM planning, merchandising and/or sales experience in a global or market function.
- Strong presentation/communication, negotiation and influencing skills, especially with senior stakeholders within a global matrix organization.
- Strong cross-functional and stakeholder management experience across commercial functions (e.g. marketing, sales, etc.) and support functions (finance preferred), as well as different organizational levels (Global, Market, etc.)
- Strategic thinking to build long-term plans and agility to quickly adapt to changing business needs.
- Proven
- Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

- 8+ years of experience in merchandising/product, marketing, sales/retail required. Regional experience preferred.
- University degree in Business or equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sales and/or Marketing preferred
- Previous experience in managing a global matrix organization required
- Sporting goods industry experience required
- Fluent in English
- Solid experience in attracting, hiring, developing and coaching a strong and talented team
- Has successfully built cohesive teams that have consistently stretched profit and business objectives

AT ADIDAS WE HAVE A WINNING CULTURE. BUT TO WIN, PHYSICAL POWER IS NOT ENOUGH. JUST LIKE ATHLETES OUR EMPLOYEES NEED MENTAL STRENGTH IN THEIR GAME. WE FOSTER THE ATHLETE’S MINDSET THROUGH A SET OF BEHAVIORS THAT WE WANT TO ENABLE AND DEVELOP IN OUR PEOPLE AND THAT ARE AT THE CORE OF OUR UNIQUE COMPANY CULTURE: THIS IS HOW WE WIN WHILE PLAYING FAIR.

COURAGE: Speak up when you see an opportunity; step up when you see a need..

OWNERSHIP: Pick up the ball. Be proactive, take responsibility and follow-through.

INNOVATION: Elevate to win. Be curious, test and learn new and better ways of doing things.

TEAMPLAY: Win together. Work collaboratively and cultivate a shared mindset.

INTEGRITY: Play by the rules. Hold yourself and others accountable to our company’s standards.

RESPECT: Value all players. Display empathy, be inclusive and show dignity to all.

**ADIDAS CELEBRATES DIVERSITY, SUPPORTS INCLUSIVENESS AND ENCOURAGES INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION IN OUR WORKPLACE. WE DO NOT TOLERATE THE HARASSMENT OR DISCRIMINATION TOWARD ANY OF OUR APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES. WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORT