Director, NA Sales & Business Development, Running

About the role

The Director of NA Sale & Business Development - Running is accountable for leading, developing, and executing a strategic go-to-market plan within running specialty and all other channels to establish KEEN as a credible and emerging running brand. This role is critical in supporting the VP of Sales to cultivate strong customer relationships, collaborating with internal cross-functional and elevating KEENs assortment with the right retail partners to deliver impactful results. This role plays an integral part in pioneering our industry leading outdoor brand in running with the US Marketplace.

Driven by a passion for life outside, KEEN is a values-led, independently owned brand from Portland, Oregon, that’s on a mission to create original and versatile products, improve lives, and inspire outside adventure. Founded in 2003, KEEN launched a revolution in the footwear industry with the introduction of the Newport adventure sandal and has donated more than $18 million to non-profit organizations and causes around the world to promote responsible outdoor recreation, including conservation efforts to protect open spaces. KEEN strives to show the world through its products and its actions that a business for good can actually be good for business. By giving back, reducing impact, and activating communities and individuals to protect the places where we work and play, KEEN puts its values in motion and takes action to leave the world a better place.

Responsibilities

• Leads the Technical Representative team, providing strategic direction for retail engagement initiatives that strengthen wholesale partnerships through product training, education, relationship building, consumer-facing events, and product demonstrations.
• Partners with Sales, Marketing, and Product teams to advance KEEN’s performance categories by developing engagement strategies for run specialty, outdoor specialty, and other strategic retail partners.
• Builds brand awareness and supports growth in Trail and KEEN Run.
• Cultivates new relationships and strengthens existing customer partnerships within the running specialty category.
• Focuses on expanding wholesale distribution and building the dealer network in run specialty to scale KEEN’s presence and assortment breadth.
• Identifies and evaluates new account opportunities within run specialty, focusing on key, influential, and credible retail partners to expand the brand’s presence and drive sales growth.
• Assists in developing and executing the go-to-market strategy for KEEN Run, ensuring alignment with product initiatives and the overarching brand vision across all distribution channels.
• Conducts product demonstrations