Consumer Lifestyle & Retail.
your recruiting partners in the fashion & lifestyle industry.
Consumer is our heartland. PartnerWise places senior leaders into the businesses that define how people live, shop and experience the world. From global footwear giants and heritage luxury houses to founder-led outdoor brands, PE-backed DTC challengers and multinational FMCG groups, we recruit the commercial, creative and operational leadership that drives growth at scale.
We have placed over 2,000 senior leaders across 14 years. In consumer, our network runs deep across fashion and lifestyle, beauty and luxury, retail and e-commerce, sporting goods and apparel, and consumer goods and services. Every search is led by a named partner with genuine sector depth, not a generalist covering consumer as one of twenty verticals.
KIRSTY SCHOFIELD.
Global Managing Partner | Fashion & Lifestyle
+44 (0) 7964 425 445
kirsty@partnerwise.co.uk
JENNY DODDS.
Principal Partner | Global Travel Retail, Luxury, Beauty & Retail
+44 (0) 7964 425 538
jenny@partnerwise.co.uk
JOHN CHATWIN.
Global Managing Partner | Active Outdoor, Performance & Lifestyle
+44 (0) 7590 406 743
john@partnerwise.co.uk
Who We Work With.
We partner with consumer lifestyle and retail businesses at every stage of growth and across every market position. Our clients include global brand groups and publicly listed retailers, PE and VC-backed portfolio companies scaling through investment, founder-led businesses with international ambitions, direct-to-consumer and digitally native brands, premium and luxury fashion and beauty houses, sporting goods, outdoor and performance brands, FMCG, health and wellness and food and beverage companies, and high street, travel retail and omnichannel retailers.
Whether a business is repositioning a brand, entering a new market, building a leadership team following acquisition, or navigating the shift from wholesale to DTC, we understand the strategic context behind every hire.
Trusted by.
OUR SUB-SECTORS.
Consumer Lifestyle & Retail is broad. We organise our coverage across five interconnected sub-sectors, each led by a partner with deep relationships and genuine market knowledge.
Fashion & Lifestyle.
Heritage luxury and premium brands, high street fashion, contemporary and emerging designers, DTC fashion businesses, outdoor and lifestyle brands. Led by Kirsty Schofield.
Beauty & Luxury.
Prestige beauty, mass beauty, skincare and wellness, fragrance, luxury goods and accessories. Brands spanning heritage houses, indie disruptors and PE-backed challenger brands. Led by Jenny Dodds.
Consumer Goods & Services.
FMCG, household goods, food and beverage, health and wellness, personal care and consumer services. Multinational groups and PE-backed growth businesses. Led by Jenny Dodds.
Sporting Goods & Apparel.
Performance footwear and apparel, outdoor and technical brands, sports nutrition, activewear, cycling, running and fitness. From global sportswear leaders to high-growth challenger brands. Led by John Chatwin.
Retail.
Omnichannel, high street, grocery, travel retail, marketplace and e-commerce businesses. From global retailers to specialist operators. Led by Jenny Dodds.
LEADERSHIP ROLES WE RECRUIT.
We operate exclusively at Director to C-suite level. Across consumer lifestyle and retail, the roles we are most frequently retained to fill include:
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Chief Executive Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Chief People Officer, Chief Merchandising Officer, Non-Executive Directors.
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Managing Director, President, General Manager (Country/Region), Brand Director, Commercial Director, Sales Director, VP Sales EMEA/APAC, Wholesale Director, International Director.
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Buying Director, Merchandising Director, Planning Director, VP Buying, Head of Category.
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VP of E-Commerce, Digital Director, Creative Director, Marketing Director, Director of CRM, Head of Brand, VP Marketing/SVP Brand.
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Supply Chain Director, Sourcing Director, VP Operations, Head of Production, Head of Logistics, Director of Sustainability.
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HR Director, Talent Director, Chief People Officer, VP Talent Acquisition, Director of Organisational Development.
For large-scale leadership build-outs or transformation projects, our Exec-Project service provides a dedicated, scalable search solution. For senior leaders needed on a flexible or interim basis, our Interim & Fractional Leadership practice places experienced executives who deliver impact immediately. For hiring below Director level, PW Talent extends the same sector expertise across the full talent spectrum.
OUR WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.
24/7 AI-Sourcing, powered by PW Edge.
Every search is powered by PW Edge, our proprietary intelligence platform. Eight modules, 23+ live data sources, dual-model AI. It identifies candidates from adjacent industries that traditional search methods miss and gives our clients intelligence no other firm can access
Sector-first, not generalist.
Our partners cover consumer as their primary focus, not as one sector among many. Average tenure on the team is 8+ years. We measure the strength of our network in mapped leaders per sector, typically 500+ across senior roles. We know your talent pool and your competitors' talent pools.
Retained or container. Never contingent.
Every search gets dedicated resource, a defined methodology and a named partner who owns the outcome. Retained mandates carry full commitment upfront. Container mandates stage that commitment (typically 20-30% upfront, balance on placement) but apply identical process rigour. We do not work multi-agency contingency.
Built for precision. Guaranteed.
Brief to shortlist in 45 days, hit on 95% of mandates. Three to five assessed candidates per shortlist. Psychometric profiling via Assessio AI. Every placement guaranteed for 6 months at Director level and 12 months at VP and above. 92% of our clients return for subsequent searches.
LEAD IN STYLE.
Your next leader is already in our network.
Whether you have a live mandate or a succession risk on the horizon, we'd welcome a conversation. Our CEO compensation benchmark is a free, 48-hour deliverable that demonstrates our intelligence capability with no commitment.