Helping small to mid-sized manufacturers successfully grow into retail by building a solid supply chain fueling 2X/3X growth.

VP-Level supply chain executive with 15 years leading enterprise execution and working capital performance in complex, high-volume, high-SKU environments. I currently lead the enterprise supply chain engine at Vestis (formerly Aramark Uniform Services), spanning SIOP/IBP, demand planning, supply planning, purchasing, production management, and inventory management, with a team of 28.

Scope & scale: $150M inventory, $500M annual spend influence, 20K+ SKUs, and a distributed global organization, executive-facing cadence across Sales/Ops/Finance. 

I’m known for turning ambiguity into execution — building operating cadence, accountability, and cross-functional alignment with Sales, Operations, and Finance to deliver measurable results: inventory reduction, improved fill rates, backorder elimination, and stronger cash flow performance.

Highlights include:
•	Improved fill rates by 16% and increased inventory turns (reducing inventory 19% within 14 months)
•	Reduced backorders by 64% by implementing an SIOP framework aligned to business priorities
•	Reorganized a global supply chain team to improve retention, engagement, and scalability

Operating model: executive SIOP/IBP cadence; KPI ownership across service, inventory and working capital.

Long-term, I’m focused on VP-level supply chain leadership where I can lead end-to-end execution and transformation across planning, procurement, manufacturing/operations, and logistics execution.

Leadership style: calm, direct, accountable, and people-first.

Lindsey Walker

Inventory is the most misunderstood line item on the balance sheet.

Some leaders treat it like an asset.
In reality, it’s like cash tucked under a mattress — safe, but not earning anything… and quietly losing value over time.

And inventory rarely gets “fixed” in Excel.
It gets fixed through better decisions.

In my experience, excess inventory usually comes from:
• unclear service policies (“everything is priority”)
• long/unreliable lead times
• too many SKUs with no segmentation
• incentives that reward “just in case” behavior
• SIOP/IBP meetings that report… but don’t decide

The goal isn’t just less inventory.
It’s the right inventory — aligned to service, constraints, and cash.

👉 What’s one lever that’s made the biggest difference reducing inventory without hurting service?

#SupplyChain #Inventory #WorkingCapital #SIOP #Operations

VP-Level Supply Chain Leader | $150M Inventory | $500M Spend | Plan-Buy-Make | Working Capital & Service

Foundation Collective

Fractional CMO, project-based marketing and strategy, resource gap filling and more.

Co-Founder & Principal Consultant

Women On Boards Project

Women on Boards (WOB) Project was created in 2020 by consumer industry leaders to increase the number of women serving on consumer company boards while also expanding diversity including race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation, gender fluidity. The Project is inspiring a game-changing movement to provide women access to seats at the board table while working in partnership with a consortium of industry leaders in venture capital and private equity to diversify their respective boards portfolios.
www.wobproject.com

Committee Lead, Marketing

Truman State University

Monthly guest professor and "client" for BSAD 470: Consulting for Small Businesses, providing students with real, hand-on consulting and client-facing experience.

Guest Professor

Made by Nacho

Laura oversees the marketing function at Bobby Flay's premium cat food brand, Made by Nacho. Laura is part of the team the strengthened the culinary positioning and increased awareness, creating and launching the company's first ever TV spot on Linear and CTV. In addition, Laura partnered with PetSmart to develop a series of vignettes featuring Bobby and Made by Nacho in their PetSmart Kitchen campaign.

Fractional CMO

Jibby Coffee

At Jibby, every product we craft is a step towards making wellness an effortless, integral part of your day. We’re here to accompany you on your wellness journey, offering a cup that’s not just about flavor, but also about nourishment, sustainability, and a shared responsibility towards our planet. Join us in making wellness a ritual—a delightful, daily celebration.

Advisor

MomRemedy

MomRemedy offers a line of non-toxic and family-friendly cleaning products that are tough on stains and versatile enough to tackle any cleaning task. The award-winning 'do anything' cleaner is perfect for busy families who demand the best.

Simply Protein for Pets, Inc.

Simply Protein for Pets, part of Gambol and backed by KKR, is the parent company that acquired the Waggin' Train dog treats brand from Purina in 2021. As Head of Marketing, contracted through Foundation Collective, Laura manages all things Brand Marketing including P&L, retailer and shopper marketing, NPD, packaging, brand positioning and more. Key projects include developing the Simply Protein for Pets brand identity, positioning and strategy docs at inception, repositioning Waggin' Train to modernize the brand and reinvigorating packaging to expand distribution and accelerate velocities, building the NPD principles and 3 year roadmap for Waggin' Train, and serving as a member on the SLT.

Head of Marketing

Laura was a Mentor for the SKU accelerator program's 2023 Petcare Track. She leveraged her pet food expertise, mentorship, and leadership training skills to coach and develop up and coming Petcare startups and entrepreneurs.

Skills: Mentoring · Executive Coaching · Working with Investors · Sales Strategy · Marketing Strategy · Strategy · Brand Development

Mentor

DOJO Labs (Formally NAPJITSU)

DOJO Labs is a revolutionary new line of nootropic-based supplements to enhance mental performance. Energy, concentration and focus, as well as proper rest and restoration, have attracted increased consumer interest and inspired new product development in the mass market supplements industry over the past few years. DOJO Labs’ new products offer a solution at the intersection of these needs for everyday achievers who appreciate convenient and effective energy supplements.

The DOJO Labs brand was inspired by the mastery of skill and powerful meditation associated with a traditional martial arts dōjō hall and is expressed by the brand’s signature “koala bear ninja.” All DOJO Labs products are developed by nutrition and supplements experts and made with naturally-sourced ingredients.

You will be able to find DOJO Labs products online at www.napjitsu.com/wearedojolabs and at over 1,000 GNC stores nationwide starting in December 2022.

Laura is the brand's CEO and Co-Founder, launching the brand to market. Laura is actively involved in the brand's day-to-day across all functions including marketing, sales, operations and finance. There is no job too big or too small if it helps advance business objectives. She thrives in a "roll up your sleeves" environment and seamlessly flexes between strategy, tactical execution, analysts and leadership.

Co-Founder & CEO

Redbud Brands

Redbud Brands is a venture capital studio that brings together people, ideas, and capital to create disruptive new consumer brands offering innovative, better-for-you products. Laura advises other brands in the portfolio on strategy development and process with focus on efficiencies.
www.redbudbrands.com

Entrepreneur In Residence

Laura is a classically trained marketer with 14+ years of CPG experience across various leadership, marketing, eCommerce and insights roles. Her category experience is broad and robust, including pet, supplements, better-for-you snacks, cleaning, beauty, household and more. Her start at The Clorox Company in brand management gave her the foundational business and marketing knowledge that aided to advance her career with venture-backed companies in her more recent roles.

Laura found her passion for small, mission-driven companies when she was Director of Marketing at Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, launching the brand's first ever national TV advertising campaign and proving that Angie's stood for more than popcorn, but rather women's empowerment. Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP sold to ConAgra for $250 million in 2018.

Laura’s track record lengthened when she was Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at Solid Gold Pet, repositioning it as the gut health brand, turning around the business to achieve record growth and ultimately selling to H&H Group in 2020 for $163 million.

Laura's general manager training, rooted in analytics and strong cross-functional collaboration, has served her well as part of leadership and management teams, and ultimately led her to launch a startup, gaining national distribution with GNC at launch.

Today, Laura is Co-Founder of Foundation Collective, a boutique consultancy that develops actionable go-to-market and brand strategies to allow brands to lay the marketing foundation fast and get to executing efficiently. Laura also advises early-stage CPG companies, Jibby Coffee and MomRemedy cleaning products, and is a committee member of The Women On Boards Project, a non-profit with a mission to place more women in first-time board seats.

The leadership quote that best describes her style is "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish." - Sam Walton

Strategy | Integrated Marketing | Digital & Omnichannel Marketing | New Product Development | eCommerce Sales | Partnerships | Campaign Development  | People Management | Emerging Brands

Laura Brooks

Fractional is everywhere right now.

But most new Fractional CMOs are accidentally building freelance businesses.

They:
🔹 Jump straight into execution
🔹 Undercharge
🔹 Skip structured onboarding
🔹 Let scope creep take over
🔹 Burn out at 2 clients

Fractional isn’t flexible consulting.

It’s executive leadership compressed into part-time hours.

And without structure, it turns into chaos fast.

We grew Foundation Collective to $1M in under 18 months with just two people — not by working more hours, but by refining the framework.

That’s why Nicole Heath and I are hosting a Live Insider Session for fractional CMOs:

Fractional Without Chaos: The System Behind a Seven-Figure fCMO Practice

We’re breaking down:
🔹 The biggest mistakes new fractionals make
🔹 How to start every engagement with authority
🔹 The audit + roadmap system we used to scale Foundation Collective to $1M in 18 months (with just 2 people)

If you’re building — or thinking about building — a fractional CMO practice, this will save you years of trial and error.

Stay until the end and we’ll share a promo code for our full audit + roadmap template. And live attendees get an added bonus.

Join us Thursday, March 12th at 12-12:30pm EDT / 9-9:30am PDT.

👉 Register Now 👈

Fractional CMO & GTM Operator for Venture-Backed CPG Brands | 2 Exits ($413M) | Angel Investor | Brand, eCommerce & Omnichannel Scale

View event: Fractional Without Chaos: The System Behind a Seven-Figure fCMO Practice

Fractional Without Chaos: The System Behind a Seven-Figure fCMO Practice

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The Battle

Lindsey Walker

Laura Brooks

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taplio

The Battle

Lindsey Walker

Laura Brooks

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Lindsey Walker's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreLaura Brooks's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreLindsey Walker's LinkedIn Performance