CPO – Chief Product Officer (m/w/d)

Responsibilities

We are representing a confidential footwear brand in their search for a Chief Product Officer to build and scale their entire product organization during a critical growth phase. This is a hands-on leadership role combining strategic vision with operational excellence.

You will own the full product value chain and be accountable for:

• Building and leading a multi-disciplinary product organization spanning product development, engineering, design, merchandising, sourcing, production, quality assurance, and product marketing
• Developing long-term product and category strategy in partnership with founders while ensuring flawless operational execution
• Establishing international product and sourcing structures in China and other production markets, including building local teams
• Recruiting, developing, and managing senior leaders and specialists across all product functions
• Optimizing development cycles, quality standards, costing, timelines, and margins across the portfolio
• Leading strategic negotiations with manufacturing partners on cost, capacity, quality, and terms
• Creating clear ownership structures, decision-making processes, and quality control mechanisms that scale
• Driving commercial performance including pricing, margins, volumes, and profitability across product lines
• Working directly with international teams and partners, diving deep into critical operational issues when needed

What We're Looking For

Our client needs a builder and operator, not someone who manages product from the boardroom. You must have:

• Multi-year leadership experience at Director, VP, SVP, or C-level within product at a footwear brand or comparable international consumer company
• Proven track record building and scaling multi-disciplinary product organizations from the ground up
• Deep expertise in footwear development, engineering, construction, materials, fit, sampling, testing, and production
• Extensive hands-on experience with footwear factories and production partners in China, ideally with an established network in Asian sourcing markets
• Strong knowledge of sourcing, costing, supplier management, production planning, and commercial negotiations
• Experience scaling product portfolios, categories, and international product lines
• Commercial acumen around margins, pricing, manufacturing costs, volumes, and product profitability
• Ability to develop C-level strategy while simultaneously diving deep into complex product, development, or production challenges
• A builder mindset—comfortable creating structures rather than inheriting them
• High standards for execution, accountability, and results
• Fast, data-driven decision-making with strong entrepreneurial judgment
• Excellent English and willingness to travel internationally, particularly to China and production partners
• Based in or willing to work regularly from Hamburg

How We Work with You

Our talent team at Get A Job.ai will guide you through the entire process. Here's how it works:

• Submit your application directly through getajob.ai—do not contact the client independently
• A recruiter from our team will screen your background and discuss the opportunity in detail
• If there's a strong match, we'll prepare and submit your profile to our client
• We'll coordinate all interview stages and provide feedback throughout
• Our recruiters remain your advocate from first conversation through offer negotiation

Pay

Compensation details will be discussed during the screening process and are commensurate with the seniority and impact of this C-level role, including performance-based components.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Get A Job.ai is committed to inclusive recruiting practices. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and work to ensure fair consideration throughout our process.