Market Intelligence Director at Wolverine World Wide in Rockford, MI

Job description

The Director of Market Intelligence leads and advances the organization’s market intelligence capability, transforming complex market, consumer, competitive, retailer, and business data into actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making. Serving as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership and cross-functional teams, this role provides an objective view of the external marketplace, helping the organization understand where our brands are winning or losing, what is changing and why, and where future growth opportunities exist. The Director synthesizes syndicated market data, consumer research, competitive intelligence, retailer performance, and industry trends to identify business implications and shape brand, commercial, and enterprise strategy. Primary Duties : Marketplace Intelligence Develop a comprehensive view of market performance across key categories, brands, channels, retailers, and consumer segments. Monitor market size, growth, share, pricing, distribution, and other key performance indicators. Identify emerging trends, growth opportunities, competitive threats, and shifts in consumer behavior. Translate complex marketplace data into clear business implications and strategic recommendations. Competitive Intelligence Monitor competitor performance, earnings, strategic initiatives, product launches, partnerships, acquisitions, and distribution shifts. Assess competitive strengths, vulnerabilities, whitespace opportunities, and potential market disruptions. Develop executive-ready competitive profiles, market assessments, and strategic briefings. Brand & Strategy Insights Partner with senior leadership to address critical strategic questions through quantitative and qualitative market intelligence. Apply a brand-specific lens to external trends, identifying implications and recommended actions. Inform long-range planning, strategy development, category prioritization, and growth initiatives. Consumer & Trend Intelligence Identify shifts in consumer preferences, behaviors, and demographics and their implications for the portfolio. Connect marketplace data with primary consumer research to uncover the drivers behind market trends. Monitor cultural, fashion, economic, retail, and other macro trends that may influence consumer demand. Identify emerging consumer needs and whitespace opportunities that can inform innovation and brand strategy. Retailer & Channel Intelligence Evaluate performance and trends across wholesale, DTC, ecommerce, specialty, sporting goods, department stores, marketplaces, and other relevant channels. Develop intelligence on key retailers, including growth, assortment strategies, category positioning, competitive presence, and evolving business models. Partner with commercial teams to bring fact-based marketplace context into customer and channel strategy. Executive Communication Translate complex analysis into concise, compelling business narratives for senior leadership. Deliver regular market, category, competitor, retailer, and consumer intelligence updates. Develop dashboards and recurring intelligence reporting focused on the metrics, trends, and developments most critical to the business. Data, Tools & Analytics Lead the continued development and adoption of the organization’s proprietary AI-powered Market Intelligence Agent. Oversee the effective use of syndicated data and market intelligence tools across the organization. Develop scalable processes, tools, and dashboards that improve access to and application of market intelligence. Cross-Functional Leadership · Serve as a strategic thought partner across Strategy, Product, Sales, Marketing, Consumer Insights, and senior leadership. · Proactively identify emerging business questions and opportunities rather than operating solely in response to requests. · Build organizational capability to interpret marketplace data and apply insights to business decisions. · Manage relationships with external data providers, industry exp