General Manager, Category Lifestyle Merchandising, North America

About the role

Since 1906, New Balance has empowered people through sport and craftsmanship to create positive change in communities around the world. We innovate fearlessly, guided by our core values and driven by the belief that conventions were meant to be challenged. We foster a culture in which every associate feels welcomed and respected, where leaders and creatives are inspired to shape the world of tomorrow by taking bold action today. JOB MISSION: The GM Category Merchandising Lifestyle is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving the merchandising vision, strategy, and execution for the Lifestyle portfolio across the North America region. Based in Boston, MA, the position leads a team of Merchandising Managers and partners cross-functionally to deliver consumer-right assortments that meet brand and commercial goals and elevate brand positioning across multiple channels. Operating as a critical bridge, this leader regionalizes global strategies by ensuring local marketplace nuances are seamlessly incorporated to deliver maximum regional impact. The role balances the art and science of merchandising to bring the company's goals to life with a Brand-Led and consumer-first mindset, driving the health of key product franchises and influencing both brand and commercial functions on all merchandising related deliverables. MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES: Strategic Leadership & Global-to-Regional Landing Regionalize Global Strategy: Translate global brand direction into regionally relevant assortments and product plans, ensuring local North American consumer nuances and marketplace trends are seamlessly integrated to deliver maximum impact. Commercial Alignment: Lead alignment of the commercial strategy across all distribution points of our Lifestyle business in the North America region, inclusive of Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) channels (Retail Stores and Ecommerce). Long-Range Franchise Planning: Drive the creation of long-range 3-year plans with clarity on how market share is impacted and how long-range plans and key franchise plans track to objectives. Go-To-Market Execution: Leads the creation and presentation of quarterly distribution/segmentation guidelines with key cross-functional partners (Sales leadership, Planning, Marketing, and Operations) and coordinate development calendar events around Key Go-to-Market milestones and deadlines. Assortment Architecture & Commercial Influence Directed Assortments: Guide the creation and refinement of Directed Assortments for different channels of distribution, inclusive of capsules, clusters, and online-specific opportunities Franchise & Lifecycle Management: Oversee seasonal line planning, assortment architecture, franchise health, and SKU productivity across footwear, apparel, and accessories. Drive Commercial Sell-In & Sell-Through Optimization: Act as a key partner and influencer with Commercial teams to manage and optimize plan depth. Strategically influence sell-in quantities to ensure that healthy consumer sell-through goals are always kept ahead of sell-in, maintaining marketplace premium level and inventory health. Channel Mapping: Partner with Apparel team, leverage geographic location mapping, tiering strategy and cluster mapping to deliver best-in-class head to toe consumer experience. In-Season Partnership & Marketplace Insights Demand & Supply Integration: Partner cross‑functionally to align demand and supply by monitoring forecasts, incoming orders, and supply timing, ensuring direct assortments land with precision and support the broader seasonal strategy. Risk Identification & Mitigation: Anticipate and surface in‑season risks across channels, identifying structural gaps or emerging issues early and driving decisive, brand‑aligned actions with cross‑functional teams to protect both performance and long‑term strategy. Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: Shape the end‑to‑end learning agenda by leading monthly and seasonal launch reviews, distilling consumer and marketplace insights, and translating them into strategic guidance that informs in‑season decisions and sets the direction for future franchise and category growth. Culture, Leadership & Building for the Future Team-First Leadership: Foster an authentic, team-first mindset that prioritizes collaboration, inclusivity, and shared success across the matrix. New Balance Culture Alignment: Serve as a champion of New Balance culture, ensuring everyday operations reflect a dedication to performance, continuous learning, integrity, and community. Talent Coaching & Mentoring: Manage, train, and coach merchandising staff, actively promoting professional development to build a high-performing talent pipeline for the future. Accountability & KPIs: Leads the team to create respective Directed Assortment KPIs and shared KPIs with commercial teams relative to respective areas of business, establishing high standards for results. REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS: 10+ years' experience in