VP Retail Segment

At UL, we know why we come to work. Thousands of us around the world wake up every day with a common purpose: to make the world a safer, more secure and sustainable place. Science is in our DNA; we are endlessly curious and passionate about seeking and speaking the truth. We take delight in knowing that our work makes a meaningful contribution to society, and we are proud that our culture is centered on integrity, collaboration, inclusion and excellence. UL stands at the forefront of technological advancement, and we are continually challenged to find new ways to foster innovation and positive change. Satisfying? Yes. Exciting? Absolutely! As our global footprint continues to grow, we are looking for a Vice President, Retail Segment, to join our Retail & Industry team in Northbrook, IL, or Europe. What you'll learn & achieve: UL is seeking a VP Retail Segment with deep knowledge in the Retail and Consumer domain who will lead our global retail strategy for the UL enterprise: UL's goal is to be the trusted strategic partner to the Retailer ecosystem providing intelligent quality & risk management solutions to enhance and protect Brand Value. The existing operational business divisions will continue to deliver services to the Retail segment; thus, this leader will have "affiliate revenue" - meaning the revenue remains in the existing business divisions, where the work is delivered, and we will count revenue in Retail as an "affiliated" roll-up. This role is critical in evolving UL's role in the Retail Industry from one of providing product/component specific services to serving the Retail ecosystem more broadly to meet evolving client needs. UL wants to help clients understand the full requirements to sell into their target markets. Demonstrated knowledge/experience of the Retail ecosystem is required to further develop the overall enterprise vision and strategy, lead business planning and development efforts across the enterprise, and represent UL in the market for our Retail business. As the Retail industry continues to be hypercompetitive, technology & data driven solutions are also critical to create new value-add opportunities and disruption. The role has short-term and longer-term component: Short-term + Current services & operations processes need to be fixed & the supporting underlying systems improved + Conduct a gap analysis of the current product portfolio to ensure it meets existing client needs + Identify new services for Retail clients Longer-term + Clear definition of what we do in Retail today, and will do in the near-term + Clarity around go to market strategy and how present UL to the Retail ecosystem + Address operational opportunities - process and people management Scope of capabilities - Need to go from TIC provider to a strategic partner for advanced analytics. This position reports to the Retail & Industry BU President and will first be tasked with growing UL's Retail business through the understanding of our existing services and the creation of new offerings through organic and inorganic growth. The Retail Industry Lead/GM will hire a small team and partner with the other Divisions to expand our presence in the Retail & Consumer space. Once the business has reached critical mass as assessed by UL Leadership, this role may become the Retail Divisional General Manager. In this position, the VP Retail Segment will be responsible for the following: Vision and Strategy: + Understand the enterprise-wide Retail P&L and what future financial success can look like (long-range plan). + dentify and understand the right internal and external stakeholders in the Retail Ecosystem. + Develop a clear view of the most critical stakeholder needs, pain points, and industry demand drivers for UL to prioritize and address. + Recommend how UL will play, lead, and win in this market. Business planning and development: + Collaborate with divisional and regional business development colleagues and corporate functions to align on a clear, enterprise-wide, go-to-market approach. + Review existing UL services for Retail and how they address industry needs today. + Develop a consolidated view of what a winning portfolio looks like. + Identify opportunities to fully address the needs of the Retail Ecosystem. + Develop business plans to address these opportunities through organic and inorganic investments, partnerships, acquisitions, etc. + Lead or participate in the execution of these business plans as appropriate (note that some investments may be owned by this Retail segment while others may be owned by other stakeholders / divisions depending on appropriate business fit). + Perform key account management duties as appropriate. + Develop strong relationships with key stakeholders (manufacturers, suppliers, industry groups, etc.). + Lead all market and competitive intelligence activities including industry analysis, stakeholder insight generation, messaging and marketing content, etc. + Partnering to develop dat