Sales Director

About Northstar

Northstar is a global footwear design and sourcing agency with offices across the U.S., UK,India, China, and Mexico. We partner with leading international brands to design, develop, and deliver innovative footwear products with precision and speed. Our mission is to combine design intelligence, operational control, and global reach to drive growth for our customers. Northstar offers a one-stop shop — from sales and design to fulfillment, material and technology research, in-house testing, prototyping, collaborative design, CAD/blueprints, and material development.

We approach each customer deliberately and comprehensively, utilizing our vast personnel and experience to find efficient, creative solutions.

Northstar is seeking a dynamic, experienced Senior Director of Sales to join our El Segundo office and serve as a key leader within Northstar USA. Reporting directly to Candice Watts,President of Northstar USA, this individual will assume ownership of key account relationships,drive sales and product direction, and lead the day-to-day commercial execution of the division. The ideal candidate is a seasoned footwear professional who started their career in design andhas evolved through product line management, merchandising, and account leadership.

Theybring a combination of creative vision and commercial acumen — equally comfortable steering product strategy and managing to revenue and margin targets. This person thrives in a fast paced, client-facing environment and has the relationship instincts and industry knowledge tobecome a trusted partner to our most important customers.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned accounts, building deep, trust-based relationships with key customer stakeholders.
• Represent Northstar in all client-facing touchpoints — meetings, presentations, and in person engagements at customer offices.
• Plan and host showroom visits, shopping trips, and strategic reviews to strengthen partnerships and demonstrate Northstar's value.
• Act as a proactive solutions partner to customers, anticipating needs and aligning
  
  Northstar's capabilities to drive account growth.

• Own and manage seasonal sales plans for assigned accounts, with full accountability for achieving revenue and margin targets.
• Collaborate with Candice and Northstar leadership to develop divisional sales strategies and identify growth opportunities.
• Analyze account performance, track KPIs, and deliver regular reporting and forecasting to leadership.
• Identify new business opportunities within existing accounts and support efforts toexpand Northstar's customer base.

• Lead seasonal product strategy for assigned accounts — from trend research throughfinal line review and commercial handoff.
• Guide design and development teams in creating collections that align with customer brand DNA, price architecture, and commercial objectives.
• Drive compelling merchandising narratives and product storytelling that differentiate
  
  Northstar's offering in the market.
• Translate customer feedback, market trends, and competitive intelligence into actionable product direction.
• Shop global markets and attend trade shows and fashion weeks to ensure Northstar'sproduct output is trend-right and market-relevant.

• Manage the end-to-end product development process for assigned accounts, from initial concept through commercialization.
• Maintain development calendars in partnership with PD and technical teams, ensuring all milestones and sample deadlines are met.
• Troubleshoot development issues proactively, keeping timelines on track and customers informed.
• Communicate effectively with Northstar's overseas teams in Asia, ensuring alignment on materials, construction, costing, and execution.

• Manage a team of designers (3–5 direct reports), setting clear expectations and fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture.
• Coach team members on design, PLM, development best practices, and customer facing skills.
• Optimize team workflows and workloads across…