Amazon · 5 days ago
Executive Leader, Category Merchant
Austin, TX
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$165K/yr - $273K/yr
8+ years expAmazon is seeking an Executive Leader of Local and Emerging Brands to drive strategic direction for local and emerging brand development at Whole Foods Market. This role involves leading a team of foragers, enhancing community connections, and ensuring a locally relevant customer experience while collaborating cross-functionally to integrate the team's outputs into broader organizational efforts.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)DeliveryE-CommerceFoundational AIRetail
Responsibilities
Create the strategic direction for Local and Emerging (L&E) brands in support of WFM and Merchandising strategies
Establish success metrics for Local and Emerging Brands programming initiatives
Identify a focused framework and use it to prioritize investment in which categories Local and Emerging Brands matters most to customers
Ensure that Whole Foods Market's customers have an unparalleled locally relevant experience by supporting relevant brands and surfacing geographical taste preferences
Lead and develop a team of foragers for team and individual growth through goal establishment, personal growth plans, coaching & mentoring, and succession planning
Coach Foragers to tailor partnership and negotiation approaches by supplier
Create the strategy and support the facilitation of LEAP (Local & Emerging Accelerator Program)
Create a Team Member facing curriculum for program engagement, including culture champion program and new Team Member onboarding
Partner cross-functionally with Merchants, Marketing, and Retail/Regional Operations to drive speed to market, strong execution in stores, and storytelling
Foster a culture of collaboration and accountability within cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment between supplier strategies and broader organizational objectives
Design and implement a comprehensive supplier engagement roadmap, supplier education, supplier success planning, supplier summits, and industry events
Support the development of local and emerging suppliers to onboard, activate and grow including quality standards compliance, distribution, promo planning, demo activation, and marketing support
Set new suppliers up for success by leading a team to provide onboarding resources and support
Work with a bias for action to identify high potential suppliers for accelerated scaling opportunities
Draft and oversee supplier communications for critical updates, programmatic changes, and newsletters
Engage in industry-facing platforms like panels, speaking engagements, and PR opportunities
Identify partnership opportunities with brand incubators, incubator kitchens, distributor partners, operating partners, and ad agencies
Stay informed on emerging industry trends and best practices to enhance supplier engagement capabilities
Qualification
Required
BA/BS degree and 8+ years relevant merchandise experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
6+ years of proven success in leadership in merchandising, supplier or founder role
Demonstrated ability to craft and execute visionary plans that drive organizational success. Proven history of inspiring and leading teams, motivating them to achieve exceptional results
4+ years proven success in mentoring and developing high-performing teams through servant leadership principles
Able to shift comfortably between big picture strategic thinking and the tactics required to achieve outcomes
Demonstrated ability to drive cultural transformation and operational excellence through innovative supplier strategies
Experience in designing and facilitating strategic engagement roadmaps
Track record of recruiting top talent and cultivating a high-performing team. Skilled in identifying and attracting exceptional candidates
Proven success in mentoring and developing high-performing teams through servant leadership principles
Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams in dynamic, high-pressure environments to deliver measurable business outcomes
Proven ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships and build consensus across diverse teams
Demonstrated expertise in managing retail supplier relationships to achieve long-term value creation and mutual growth
Demonstrated exceptional negotiation and influencing skills, with a focus on driving mutual-gain outcomes that align with organizational priorities
Established executive presence with excellent written and verbal communication skills and experience maintaining a poised, credible, and confident demeanor in high-pressure situations
Demonstrated strategic influence skills, with experience developing and executing influence strategies to gain commitment from stakeholders
Nuanced understanding of the grocery retail industry and the business models of key strategic partners and competitors
Strong business acumen, with experience analyzing economic, financial, market, and industry trends to inform strategy and enhance organizational performance, including omnichannel environments
Expertise in leveraging data and market insights to inform supplier strategies and optimize outcomes
Track record of creative problem-solving, demonstrating the ability to think innovatively and find effective solutions to complex challenges
Ability to leverage resources effectively to overcome obstacles and achieve successful hiring outcomes
Proven ability to work under pressure, prioritize work, and balance a portfolio of programs
Preferred
Passion for Organics, Fair Trade, Quality Standards, Animal Welfare, Sustainability, Win-Win Supplier Relationships and world-class retail
Benefits
Equity
Sign-on payments
Medical
Financial
Other forms of compensation
Company
Amazon
Amazon is a tech firm with a focus on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Amazon has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (22803)
2024 (21175)
2023 (19057)
2022 (24088)
2021 (12233)
2020 (14881)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$8.11BKey Investors
AmazonKleiner Perkins
2023-01-03Post Ipo Debt· $8B
2001-07-24Post Ipo Equity· $100M
1997-05-15IPO
Leadership Team
Douglas J. Herrington
CEO, Worldwide Amazon Stores
Werner Vogels
VP & CTO
Recent News
2026-01-19
2026-01-19
Company data provided by crunchbase