Vice President Brand

Role Overview

The Vice President of Brand leads the global Brand team at Assouline, acting as the executive liaison between the creative vision of the Founders and the business objectives set by the President. This role is responsible for transforming the Maison’s vision into a cohesive Brand System, establishing shared standards, priorities, and governance that steer how Assouline presents itself across all consumer touchpoints—from everyday content to signature Maison events.

The VP Brand works closely with the Founders and President to define the goals for each initiative, identify which brand levers to activate, assess the necessary impact and resource levels, and ensure that Assouline’s distinctive point of view is upheld while supporting growth. The position demands a combination of creative authority, taste, and cultural insight alongside executive leadership, including team structuring, budget management, talent development, and delivering measurable results.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Assouline’s global Brand strategy in collaboration with senior leadership.
• Convert the editorial, cultural, and creative vision into clear priorities, standards, and decision frameworks.
• Ensure that all brand-facing outputs reinforce the luxury positioning, cultural influence, and consistent visual and editorial excellence.
• Maintain brand consistency across all channels including image, tone, storytelling, communications, experiences, retail, digital, and commercial platforms.
• Balance timeless brand identity with innovation and cultural relevance.
• Serve as the primary intermediary translating creative founder vision into actionable business goals and priorities without compromising standards.
• Lead the Brand leadership team spanning Image Studio, Marketing, Communications, Events & Experiences, and Digital & Innovations.
• Define roles, decision rights, and expected outcomes for each Brand pillar to prevent fragmentation and ensure cohesive operations.
• Manage the Master Brand Calendar with a prioritization model (A+/A/B/C) to allocate resources and determine impact levels for each initiative.
• Oversee creative quality, validate strategic intent behind brand expressions, and foster memorable and unexpected moments aligned with Assouline’s core identity.
• Drive integrated brand activation plans that align Marketing, Communications, Events, Digital, Retail, Wholesale, E-commerce, and partnerships to fuel growth and client engagement.
• Handle Brand governance, including meeting rhythms, budget architecture, resource allocation, and high-level decision-making.
• Lead, mentor, and develop senior Brand leadership to raise standards and promote a unified brand system.
• Implement frameworks for post-project learnings, agency/partner collaboration, and continuous brand evolution.

Candidate Profile & Experience

• At least 15 years of senior leadership experience in brand management, luxury marketing, communications, cultural or creative strategy, or integrated brand oversight.
• Proven track record managing multidisciplinary teams including image, marketing, communications, events, digital, social media, content, and cultural programs.
• Deep familiarity with luxury, culture, publishing, design, hospitality, art, travel, lifestyle, or similar premium categories.
• Expertise in translating visionary leadership into scalable strategies, standards, processes, and team responsibilities.
• Strong judgment balancing image, storytelling, cultural relevance, commercial objectives, and organizational capability.
• Experience developing annual plans, campaign architectures, governance frameworks, and operational workflows.
• Confidence collaborating with founders, presidents, creative directors, commercial leaders, and operational teams.
• Excellent leadership skills in mentoring directors, managing priorities, and elevating execution standards.
• Outstanding communication and presentation abilities to clarify complex decisions and build alignment.

Ideal Candidate Attributes

• Ability to uphold high creative and cultural standards while introducing scalable operating models.
• Adept at translating visionary concepts into structured priorities, budgets, and decision-making processes.
• Experienced in leading and mentoring senior, cross-disciplinary brand teams.
• Clear understanding of the distinction and synergy between brand-building and commercial implementation.
• Skilled in managing expectations across senior stakeholders including Founder and President.
• Capability to produce impactful, memorable brand moments that align with business goals.
• Decisive in choices and comfortable saying no when necessary.
• Driven by the challenge and opportunity to build a Brand organization fit for Assouline’s international growth ambitions.