Licensing careers · Executive
VP of Consumer Products
A VP of consumer products owns licensing and merchandise revenue for a region or a large brand portfolio. They set the commercial plan, lead category teams, manage the most important licensees and retail partners, and make sure the licensing operation can scale.
At the largest licensors, an SVP owns a whole regional P&L and leads several VPs.
- Track
- Executive
- Level
- Vice President (also covers SVP)
- Typical experience
- 10 to 15 years for VP, 15+ for SVP
- Also called
- VP Licensing, VP Consumer Products & Licensing, SVP Consumer Products (regional)
- Reports to
- President, General Manager or Chief Commercial Officer; SVPs report to the global head of consumer products
- Next step
- SVP, EVP or President of Consumer Products, General Manager
Key responsibilities
What does a VP of consumer products do?
- Set the regional or portfolio commercial plan for licensing and consumer products
- Own revenue, profit, budget and forecasts
- Lead category heads and managers across hardlines, softlines, toys, publishing and other categories
- Manage master licensees and the most strategic partners directly
- Build retail partnerships and retail marketing programs
- Invest in licensing infrastructure: team, processes and systems
- Feed regional insight into the global brand and franchise strategy
- Review revenue and forecasts by category and partner
- Meet a master licensee or major retailer
- Coach category heads on deals and partner issues
- Present plans or results to the global leadership team
- Approve investment cases for new categories, markets or systems
Where the role sits
The VP owns strategy and operations across a portfolio.
Like the head of licensing, the VP owns program strategy and operations management, but across a larger portfolio. The VP relies on consistent data from every team below them.
Revenue, forecast and partner data by category and region.
The regional or portfolio commercial plan, its revenue and profit, and the investment behind it.
THIS ROLEThe commercial plan, targets and investment decisions for each category.
Performance data that arrives weeks late as a manually built pack. Decisions about renewals and investment are then made on old numbers.
How success is measured
Six KPIs for a VP of consumer products.
Few job ads define success for this role. These are the measures Flowhaven recommends.
| KPI | How to calculate it |
|---|---|
| Revenue and profit against plan | Licensing and consumer products revenue and contribution against the annual plan |
| Revenue growth | Year on year change, by category and region |
| Sell through | Share of licensed product sold to consumers at full price |
| Retail footprint | Doors or listings carrying licensed product in the region |
| Licensee base growth | New strategic partners added, and the value of their guarantees |
| Royalty forecast accuracy | Gap between forecast and actual royalties each quarter |
Best practices
What great VPs of consumer products do.
Run a few big bets well
Master licensees and flagship categories need dedicated attention.
Measure beyond royalties
Sell through and retail footprint show the health behind the numbers.
Standardize how teams work
So every category reports the same way.
Make data the default
In partner reviews and investment decisions.
Invest in infrastructure before it becomes urgent
What works for 50 partners breaks at 500.
Skills and tools
What the role asks for.
- Regional or portfolio P&L leadership
- Executive negotiation with master licensees and retailers
- Leading leaders across categories
- Strategic planning and investment cases
- BI dashboards
Flowhaven and Salesforce experience is a strong plus.
Flowhaven is built on Salesforce, which IDC has ranked the number one CRM for 13 years in a row, with a 20% share of the CRM market in 2025. Licensing platform skills carry across the whole team.
Career path
Where people come from, and where they go.
- SVP or EVP of Consumer Products
- President of Consumer Products
- General Manager
Hiring?
VP of Consumer Products job description template.
Copy it, fill in the brackets and post it.
Vice President, Consumer Products
We are looking for a VP of Consumer Products to lead licensing and merchandise across [region / portfolio]. You will own the commercial plan, the category teams and our most important partners.
What you will do
- Set the commercial plan and own revenue, profit and forecasts
- Lead category heads and their teams
- Manage master licensees and strategic retail partners
- Build the processes and systems the business needs to scale
- Represent the region in global brand and franchise planning
What you will bring
- [10+] years in licensing or consumer products, including leading leaders
- A track record of growing licensing revenue at scale
- Senior negotiation and retail partnership experience
- Experience with Flowhaven or Salesforce is a plus
How success is measured
Revenue and profit against plan, growth by category, sell through, retail footprint and forecast accuracy.
FAQ
Questions people ask about the VP of consumer products role
They own licensing and merchandise revenue for a region or portfolio and lead the category teams that deliver it.
A VP typically owns one region or portfolio. An SVP owns a larger regional P&L with several VPs reporting in.
Free buyer’s guide: from spreadsheets to licensing software
A readiness scorecard, a capability checklist, 16 vendor questions and a business case worksheet to take to your team.
One view of every partner, product and royalty.
See how licensing leaders run growing programs in Flowhaven, in a personalized walkthrough.
