Director, Business Development

At Designer Brands, we are the proud parent company of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, The Shoe Company, and Rubino, operating nearly 675 stores across North America and a billion-dollar digital commerce business. We lead the footwear industry with a diverse portfolio of iconic brands, including Topo Athletic, Keds, Vince Camuto, Kelly & Katie, Jessica Simpson, Lucky Brand, Mix No. 6, Crown Vintage, and others. With expertise in design, production, and sourcing, we create on-trend footwear and accessories, delivered through a robust omni-channel infrastructure and national wholesale distribution. At Designer Brands, we are committed to fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity, where each employee’s unique perspective contributes to our success. Anchored by our core values of “We Love What We Do,” “We Own What We Do,” “We Do What’s Right,” and “We Belong,” we continuously drive forward together, building a future where everyone can put their best foot forward.

The Opportunity

The Director, Business Development is responsible for leading the evaluation, diligence, and prioritization of new business initiatives across the enterprise. This role serves as a critical partner to executive leadership by assessing growth opportunities with a focus on strategic fit, financial viability, and execution risk.

This leader will act as a central point of intake for new business development ideas and opportunities—developing structured business cases, conducting financial analysis, and translating complex insights into clear, actionable recommendations for senior leaders. This leader will also support idea-to-value project coordination and follow through with stakeholders within the business. The role is highly cross-functional, requiring strong collaboration with strategy, finance, operations, and functional business teams to advance high-impact initiatives.

Reporting To: SVP, Strategy & Analytics

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Conduct market and competitive research on trends and identify potential growth opportunities aligned to DBI’s overall enterprise strategy

Serve as the central intake point for evaluating new business initiatives across the organization, including opportunities from executive leadership, internal teams, and external partners

Evaluate strategic alignment of initiatives with enterprise priorities and identify key risks, dependencies, and value drivers

Build and own comprehensive financial models and scenario/sensitivity analyses to support decision-making

Translate complex financial and operational inputs into clear, decision-ready insights, including expected returns, cost structures, and risk profiles

Develop executive-level presentations and materials that clearly communicate recommendations, trade-offs, and key decision points

Partner cross-functionally with strategy, finance, IT, operations, merchandising, marketing, and other stakeholders to gather inputs, validate assumptions, and address business case benefits and risks

Drive project management of evaluation efforts, ensuring timelines, milestones, and deliverables are met across multiple concurrent initiatives

Maintain and track the pipeline of active and proposed initiatives, including status updates, key milestones, and decision timelines

Support development and application of prioritization frameworks to focus on the highest-impact opportunities

Provide visibility to leadership on pipeline health, trade-offs, and resource considerations

Support transition to execution for approved initiatives, including outlining key implementation considerations and success metrics

Partner with initiative owners to ensure continuity of business case assumptions and alignment from evaluation through execution

Required Skills:

Strong structured strategic thinking with the ability to break down ambiguous problems into clear frameworks

Advanced financial modeling and analytical capabilities

Exceptional executive communication skills (written and verbal)

Proven project management skills with ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously

Ability to influence without authority in a highly cross-functional environment

Strong business judgment and attention to detail

Experience:

8–10+ years of experience in strategy, consulting, investment banking, private equity, corporate finance, or similar analytical roles

Demonstrated experience developing business cases, financial models, and executive-level presentations

Experience working in or supporting retail or consumer-facing businesses strongly preferred

Track record of leading complex, cross-functional projects from concept through recommendation

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in both analytical roles (finance/consulting) and operational or industry roles (e.g., retail) is highly valued

Exposure to corporate development or transaction-related work is a plus but not required

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or related field required

MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred