Summary
Description
The Enterprise Innovation Leader leads the strategic direction and execution of an innovation ‘mesh network’ and Innovation pipeline across footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. This role provides visionary leadership in identifying, developing, and delivering next-generation concepts, platforms, materials, and testing methodologies. Partnering closely with brands, the leader will ensure innovation is both brand-relevant and enterprise-leveraged. The role fosters collaboration, sets best-in-class product creation standards, and establishes a future-focused innovation culture that champions consumer-centricity, product excellence and sustainability.
Key Responsibilities:
Enterprise Innovation Strategy & Leadership
- Define and lead the innovation vision and strategy across the organization.
- Ensure innovation initiatives align with long-term business and consumer goals, including sustainability and social responsibility.
- Inspire a culture of creativity, experimentation, and future-focused thinking.
Innovation Portfolio Management
- Identify, prioritize, and manage a robust and diverse portfolio of innovation initiatives that address both near-term opportunities and long-range needs of brands.
- Govern the evolution of the innovation funnel through rigorous stage-gate criteria, ensuring consumer desirability, technical feasibility, and financial viability are met at each milestone.
Consumer Insight Integration
- Establish a system for the continuous flow of foundational and emerging consumer insights into the innovation process.
- Champion a consumer-back approach to all innovation, ensuring solutions are deeply informed by unmet needs and future behaviors.
External Innovation Ecosystem Development
- Develop and maintain a strong network of external partners—including academic institutions, startups, material innovators, and industry collaborators—to ensure early access to cutting-edge technologies.
- Scan and scout technologies from both within and outside the industry to fuel disruptive innovation.
Cross Functional Team Leadership
- Build, lead, and inspire a diverse, high-performing team that includes design, development, research, consumer insights, and program management experts.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, psychological safety, and continuous learning.
Product Innovation Leadership
- Be the enterprise innovation champion, guiding platform development and influencing product creation practices across brands.
- Advocate for enterprise-level adoption of innovation platforms and scalable technologies.
Innovation Process & Testing Excellence
- Establish gold-standard methodologies for product creation, material testing, and rapid prototyping.
- Promote sustainable design principles and tools to support responsible innovation across all product categories.
- Drive implementation of efficient, agile product creation processes including rapid prototyping and iterative development cycles.
Knowledge Sharing & Internal Enablement
- Create structured forums and frameworks for sharing innovation learnings, consumer trends, and technology developments across the enterprise.
- Equip inline teams with playbooks, tools, and support to bring innovation to market effectively.
- Leads the establishment of VF’s innovation lab.
Business Impact of Role:
1. Drives Long-Term Revenue Growth
- By identifying and commercializing breakthrough products and platform innovations, this role helps fuel future growth engines for VF brands.
- Platform-level innovations can be scaled across multiple brands, creating shared revenue opportunities and maximizing return on R&D investment.
2. Strengthens Competitive Differentiation
- Keeps VF brands ahead of consumer trends and competitor offerings through disruptive innovation.
- Positions VF as a market leader in sustainable and future-forward product design, especially in categories like footwear and performance gear.
3. Unlocks Cross-Brand Synergies
- Facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing across VF’s portfolio, driving efficiency and enabling faster innovation cycles.
- Leverages enterprise scale for shared technology platforms, testing infrastructure, and best practices, reducing redundancy and cost.
4. Enhances Speed to Market
- Introduces agile creation processes like rapid prototyping and consumer testing loops, accelerating time from idea to market-ready product.
- Builds an adaptable innovation funnel to quickly respond to shifting consumer behaviors and macro trends.
5. Builds a Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem
- Integrates sustainability into core innovation practices, helping VF meet its environmental goals and increase brand equity with conscious consumers.
- Leads initiatives that reduce material waste, lower carbon footprints, and create circular product solutions.
6. Cultivates Future-Ready Talent and Culture
- Attracts and retains top talent through a high-performing, values-driven innovation team.
- Embeds a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and resilience, making the organization more adaptive and innovation-led at its core.
7. Improves ROI on Innovation Investment
- Applies strategic portfolio management and stage-gate discipline to ensure only high-potential, high-impact ideas advance through the funnel.
- Ensures that each initiative is grounded in clear consumer insight, technical feasibility, and commercial viability.
Qualifications & Experience
Experience:
- 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in product innovation, R&D, or product creation within the apparel, footwear, outdoor, or consumer goods industries.
- Proven track record of developing and commercializing breakthrough products or platforms at scale across multiple categories or brands.
- Deep experience leading cross-functional innovation teams, including design, development, R&D, consumer insights, and project management.
- Experience managing an innovation portfolio and applying structured innovation methodologies (e.g., design thinking, agile innovation, stage-gate processes).
- Demonstrated success in building and leveraging external partnerships with universities, start-ups, material science companies, or research institutions.
- Strong understanding of sustainable product creation and circular design principles.
- Experience working in or closely with global brands and understanding regional consumer nuances and market needs.
Leadership & Skills:
- Visionary, enterprise-minded leader with a strong ability to align innovation strategy to broader brand and business objectives.
- Exceptional collaborator and communicator, with the ability to influence across functions and at all levels of the organization.
- Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, balanced with creativity and a consumer-first mindset.
- Culturally competent and values-driven, with a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, creating an environment of belonging, and environmental stewardship.
- Inspirational people leader with a track record of building high-performing, inclusive, and engaged teams.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Key Metrics to Measure Success:
🔹 Innovation Pipeline Health
- # of Innovation Initiatives in Funnel: Total number of projects in various stages of development (discovery, prototype, pilot, scale).
- Pipeline Balance: Mix of incremental, adjacent, and breakthrough innovations across short-, mid-, and long-term horizons.
- Stage-Gate Conversion Rates: % of initiatives successfully progressing through stage-gates (consumer validation, feasibility, business case).
- Time-to-Prototype / Time-to-Market: Average time from concept to functional prototype or commercial launch.
🔹 Impact on Business Outcomes
- Revenue from Innovation: % of total brand or business revenue coming from new products launched within the last 2–3 years.
- Platform Adoption Rate: # of brands or product lines adopting shared innovation platforms, technologies, or materials.
- Innovation ROI: Return on investment for innovation programs, measured through revenue, margin, or cost-savings realized.
- Cost Avoidance / Efficiency Gains: Savings through shared testing, prototyping, or material usage across brands.
🔹 Consumer & Market Validation
- Consumer Testing Scores: Performance of innovation concepts in consumer desirability, usability, and purchase intent tests.
- # of Consumer Insights Integrated: Frequency and volume of fundamental insights feeding into the pipeline.
- Market Adoption Metrics: Sales velocity, repeat purchase rate, and market share lift of innovation-led products.
🔹 Sustainability Impact
- % of Innovations with Sustainability Benefit: Proportion of innovations that support circularity, reduced emissions, or sustainable materials.
- Carbon / Waste Reduction from New Designs: Tangible environmental impact from launched innovations.
🔹 Culture & Capability Building
- Team Engagement & Retention: Engagement scores and turnover rates within the innovation team.
- Cross-Brand Collaboration Index: # of cross-brand projects, workshops, or shared learning forums held.
- Training / Tool Adoption Rates: Utilization of innovation playbooks, rapid prototyping tools, or best practice frameworks by brand teams.
🔹 External Reach & Influence
- # of Strategic Partnerships Formed: Relationships with external labs, institutions, or vendors driving co-innovation.
- # of Industry Awards or Recognition: External validation of VF’s innovation leadership.
Hiring Range:
$276,480.00 USD – $345,600.00 USD annually
Incentive Potential: This position is eligible for additional compensation awards that may include an annual incentive plan, sales incentive, or commission potential. Specific details of the additional compensation eligibility for this position will be provided during the recruiting and interview process.
Long-Term Incentive Potential: This position is eligible to participate in a Long-Term Incentive Plan. Specific details of the plan will be provided during the recruiting and interview process.
Benefits at VF Corporation: You can review a general overview of each benefit program offered, including this year's medical plan rates on www.MyVFbenefits.com and by clicking Looking to Join VF? Detailed information on your benefits will be provided during the hiring process.
Please note, our hiring ranges are determined and built from market pay data. In determining the specific compensation for this position, we comply with all local, state, and federal laws.
At VF, we value a diverse, inclusive workforce and we provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. If you are unable to submit your application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at peopleservices@vfc.com. VF will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities to the extent required by applicable law.
Pursuant to all applicable local Fair Chance Ordinance requirements, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, VF will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
