Circle Brands: Vice President

Circle Brands•Yoakum, TX

15h•Hybrid

About The Position

Circle Brands is seeking a Vice President to join their team. This role is for individuals passionate about the equestrian-inspired lifestyle, valuing stewardship, versatility, and family. Circle Brands designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes handcrafted Western saddles, tack, bits, pads, saddle trees, and related equine products through brands like Circle Y, Tucker Trail, Reinsman, and Precision Saddle Tree. The Vice President will leverage master-level knowledge of saddle making, fit, product construction, Western disciplines, and the equine industry to strengthen the entire Circle Brands enterprise. This position involves connecting the company with market shapers, identifying opportunities, developing partnerships, and making informed product and market decisions. The role aims to translate technical knowledge and industry insight into superior products, clear customer value, enhanced brand credibility, and a lasting competitive advantage. The Vice President will also lead or support key projects, utilizing experience and relationships to solve problems and advance initiatives. A key aspect of this role is the active practice of Business Systems (KBS), employing direct observation, structured problem-solving, standard work, experimentation, and continuous improvement to achieve practical results from customer and industry insights.

Requirements

Ten or more years of relevant experience in saddle making, saddle fit, saddle trees, tack, equine products, sales, or product development preferred
Demonstrated master-level knowledge of saddles, saddle construction, fit, and related products
Strong network of relationships across the Western equine industry
Experience working with saddle makers, fitters, dealers, riders, manufacturers, influencers, or other industry leaders
Experience supporting product development, testing, and commercialization
Demonstrated success in technical sales, account development, or customer support
Ability to evaluate customer needs and translate them into practical product or technical recommendations
Demonstrated ability to train others and explain complex technical information clearly
Experience with CRM, ERP, sales-reporting, or related business systems beneficial
Experience applying Business Systems, Lean principles, standard work, or structured problem-solving preferred
Bachelor’s degree in business, equine studies, product development, engineering, or a related field highly preferred
Ability to travel as required

Nice To Haves

Master-level knowledge of saddle making and saddle construction
Deep understanding of saddle fit, saddle trees, tack, materials, and Western disciplines
Strong Western equine industry knowledge and relationships
Product-development judgment
Technical sales and consultative selling
Customer and account development
Ability to translate technical knowledge into clear customer value
Strong networking and relationship-building
Cross-functional influence
Technical training and presentation
Market and competitive insight
Structured problem-solving
Business Systems principles and practices
Clear written and verbal communication
Ability to balance customer needs, technical requirements, company priorities, and practical execution

Responsibilities

Apply master-level knowledge of saddle making, saddle fit, product construction, Western disciplines, and the equine industry across the Circle Brands portfolio.
Bring customer, dealer, fitter, rider, influencer, competitor, and industry insight into product, brand, and business decisions.
Build and maintain strong relationships and partnerships with key people and organizations across the Western industry to strengthen Circle Brands’ knowledge, credibility, and market position.
Identify emerging customer needs, product gaps, technical issues, and market opportunities.
Support Product Development by helping shape concepts, review designs, evaluate prototypes, and test products in real-world use.
Help ensure new products are authentic to the intended rider, discipline, use, and brand.
Provide technical guidance on saddle construction, fit, materials, features, performance, and customer use.
Support the development of products and product systems aligned with Circle Brands’ Fit, Function, and Fashion strategy.
Lead or support projects tied to Circle Brands’ breakthrough objectives and highest-priority improvement needs.
Use experience, industry relationships, and technical knowledge to help solve difficult cross-functional problems and move important initiatives forward.
Create and own a system for Precision Saddle Tree sales and customer development.
Develop and maintain relationships with saddle manufacturers, saddle makers, fitters, dealers, and other strategic Precision Saddle Tree customers.
Identify and pursue new sales opportunities for Precision Saddle Tree products, services, fit systems, and related capabilities.
Create systems to support customers in selecting appropriate tree products, specifications, and fit solutions.
Lead account development, proposals, quotations, pricing recommendations, and commercial follow-up for Precision Saddle Tree within established company policies.
Monitor Precision Saddle Tree sales activity, pipeline, account progress, lost opportunities, and customer needs.
Coordinate with Sales while maintaining accountability for Precision Saddle Tree sales performance and customer relationships.
Partner with Operations to align customer requirements, technical needs, lead times, capacity, and delivery expectations.
Support the commercialization and adoption of Horse Fitter Pro and related fit systems.
Serve as a senior technical resource for Circle Y, Tucker Trail, Reinsman, and Precision Saddle Tree products.
Support Sales and Customer Service with complex product, fit, construction, and customer questions.
Participate in selected customer meetings, dealer visits, trade shows, clinics, product demonstrations, and industry events.
Help develop technical guides, product comparisons, dealer education, training materials, and fitting information.
Partner with Marketing to ensure product claims, technical content, fit information, and product stories are accurate, useful, and credible.
Participate in videos, demonstrations, interviews, educational content, and other market-facing work when technical authority is needed.
Advise senior leadership on product, customer, competitive, fit, and industry matters.
Use Business Systems to make problems visible, identify root causes, test countermeasures, and improve product, technical, and commercial work.
Promote standard work, structured learning, visual management, follow-through, and continuous improvement across cross-functional projects.
Perform all other duties assigned by management.
All other duties as assigned by management