Heather Ley

Product Development Manager · Petco

Oceanside, CA

In My Own Words

Experienced Product Development division leader with expertise in defining and executing product strategy in the mass-market channel that directly and measurably increases market share. Adept at managing the creation and development of new products, optimizing product designs and validating production feasibility. Experience overseeing all stages of development; from concept through mass market production. I’m able to work seamlessly with design, manufacturing, sales, and marketing teams both domestic and abroad to create and bring to market innovative, trend-driven products that are tailor made to meet customer specifications and drive sales.

Work Experience

Product Development Manager

Petco

2022 – Present

• Manage product development for four pet supplies categories: cat furniture, dog dwellings, litter accessories, and dog cleanup. • Support the product portfolios of the two top-performing Petco owned brands; EveryYay and SoPhresh, which represent nearly half a billion dollars of revenue per year.

Product Development Manager - US DIVERS

Aqua Lung America

2019 – 2022

• Optimized, validated, and enhanced the U.S. Divers product offering which directly resulted in a substantial increase in market share and sales revenue: from 2018 to 2022, the business grew from $18M to over $29M. • Managed all phases of new product development, including ideation, research & design, prototyping, development, production, and product lifecycle. • Identified new market opportunities and developed well-informed, data-driven recommendations to support product line diversification, enhance features, and make changes to improve gross margins. • Leveraged industry trends and competitive analysis to enhance margins, improve merchandising, and optimize the product offer. • Translated the 5-year business plan into a clear product roadmap that brought the brand vision to life with products that spoke to consumer’s needs.

Product Manager

Aqua Lung America

2018 – 2019

• Product manager for the global Aqua Lung Sport and US Divers sporting goods product lines. • Collaborated with an international team to bring innovative, high concept ideas into the international consumer goods marketplace. • Worked closely with Asian manufacturers to produce high-quality, on-time product deliverables on a global scale. • Spearheaded efforts to research, source, and bring to market sustainable and/or biodegradable packaging across all product lines.

Product Development Manager

Rubies Costume Company

2016 – 2018

• Managed development for Rubies Costume Company's licensed Warner Brothers and DC Comics product lines. • Annually brought to market hundreds of unique consumer products across many of the world's most high-profile licensed properties, including Batman, Superman, Justice League, and Harry Potter. • Created innovative, trend-driven items at specific price points for the country’s largest retailers, including Walmart, Target, Costco, and more. • Oversaw internal creative teams and international manufacturing to develop, produce, and ship high-quality goods while meeting project milestones and deadlines for deliverables. • Managed product lifecycles and worked with sales and marketing teams to align on strategic goals for each product line from concept through mass production. • Conducted extensive market research, analyzed sales data, and gathered customer feedback to identify up-and-coming industry trends and to develop well-informed insights into future strategic development planning.

Brand Manager - Warner Brothers Licensing Partnership

Rubies Costume Company

2015 – 2016

• Managed the brand licensing relationship with Warner Bros Consumer Products and conducted bi-weekly meetings to discuss ongoing product development as well as future opportunities. • Ensured that WB's legal, marketing, and creative teams were kept up-to-date at all development stages by submitting concepts, artwork, packaging, marketing collateral, and production samples for review. • Established an efficient, reliable system to meet and track records certifying company compliance with all licensing obligations for hundreds of SKUs in development. • Updated and maintained the company-wide Product Line Management (PLM) software system and created detailed tech packs for each new SKU. • Reviewed pre-production and provided detailed, instructive feedback to manufacturing to meet QA requirements and ensure customer satisfaction.

Marketing and Product Development Manager

Builders Site Protection

2010 – 2014

• Designed and implemented successful marketing strategies which increased industry awareness and drove sales for a construction supplies product line. • Conceptualized, developed, sourced, and brought to market a successful lead containment product that exploited an unfilled niche in the construction and remodeling industry. • Wrote compelling blog posts, articles, and press releases and used targeted SEO initiatives to increase Google search rankings for specific keywords. • Created visually appealing product flyers, catalogs, and web graphics using design software such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. • Used Google Analytics and other web tools to track and analyze customer engagement.