Karen Ouchterloney

Karen Ouchterloney is a Senior Principal with over 15 years of hands-on experience in merchandising planning, forecasting, inventory strategy, and finance partnership across specialty retail, department stores, and e-commerce. Her background with leading brands such as Coach, J.Crew, Nine West Group, and Macy’s gives her a deep understanding of the financial rhythms, operational drivers, and talent profiles required to run high-performing consumer businesses.

Building on this foundation, Karen has developed a strong specialty in finance and operations search, advising clients on CFO, CAO, FP&A, accounting, and finance-adjacent leadership roles. She brings a highly analytical lens to evaluating executive talent, grounded in her firsthand experience partnering with finance teams, driving planning rigor, and supporting decisions that influence business performance throughout her merchandising and planning career.

Karen excels at translating complex business needs into clear capability requirements. She partners closely with CEOs, CFOs, and executive teams to identify leaders who elevate financial discipline, operational effectiveness, and cross-functional alignment. She also leads searches across merchandising, supply chain, marketing, and general management, bringing a holistic understanding of how strong financial leadership supports broader organizational success.

Karen holds an MBA from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and a BA from Dickinson College. Outside of work, she is an avid athlete who enjoys tennis, golf, and kayaking on Candlewood Lake.