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Dora Vaes

Strategic Transformation & Operational Excellence

Jurisdiction

Belgium | Germany | Netherlands | France

Notable Employer

  • Head of Strategic Transformation & CMO Operations at C&A Europe
  • Senior Consultant (Freelance) at Pepco Group

Experience

Seniority LevelExecutive
Years of Experience15-20 years
Current StatusActive
Lead Business & Strategy Development
2013 - 2016

Embedded in 3-year transformation with McKinsey & BCG → responsible for Buying stream in defining and implementing new end-to-end process. Negotiated & managed partnerships (Beeline, JClub, Next & Rossmann)

Lead Transformation
2016 - 2018

Partnered with McKinsey to deliver restructuring → freed ~30% of resources for reinvestment. Designed & implemented strategic KPIs, dashboards, and project governance. Designed and implemented full end-to-end process

Head of Strategic Transformation & CMO OperationsNotable
2018 - 2024

Right-hand of CMO; Repositioned product & pricing strategy → ~25% efficiency gains & sales growth (with Bain & BCG). Designed and implemented new operating model for CMO area; Launched denim marketing plan → achieved double-digit growth

Senior Consultant (Freelance)Notable
2024 - 2025

Filled the box for Head Strategic Planning & Analystics together with following key projects: Built standardized reporting framework aligning KPIs → eliminated fragmented reporting, improved transparency Created promotional calendar → now system integrated and embedded in operations. Led planning team operating model → introduced organization-, process- and strategy design Designed Strategic Target Forum process and template (per BCG recommendation) → outputs integrated into 5-year plan Drove underwear business recovery → returned category to growth above LFL; created reusable turnaround template Coordinated Poland recovery plan → implemented successfully; approach replicated for 2026

Education

Masters of Applied EconomicsUniversity of Antwerp
1997 - 2002
Diploma of International Executive Diploma in Entrepreneurship & ManagementINSEAD Fontainebleau & Singapore
2007 - 2010

Skills

Core skills0
Languages4

Languages

English
Dutch
French
German