About Nicole
Nicole Woolley is a partner in Caldwell’s Consumer Practice, based in the firm’s New York office. She advises public, private equity-backed, and founder-led organizations on building leadership teams across the consumer, retail, fashion, luxury, beauty, and food and beverage sectors. Nicole specializes in recruiting senior executives who accelerate growth, lead transformation, and strengthen organizational performance.
Nicole leads executive searches across general management, finance, operations, merchandising, commercial leadership, supply chain, and technology. She has deep experience placing chief executive officers, chief financial officers, and other C-suite and senior leaders. Known for her strategic partnership with clients, Nicole delivers leadership solutions that align talent with business priorities, culture, and long-term growth strategies.
Experience
Before joining Caldwell, Nicole spent nearly eight years at Korn Ferry, where she most recently served as Commercial Development Leader for Professional Search & Interim after leading the firm’s North America Consumer & Retail Professional Search Practice. She partnered with leading consumer brands to execute executive search and interim leadership engagements while advising clients on organizational design, succession planning, and evolving leadership needs. Her work spanned commercial, merchandising, operations, finance, and technology leadership roles.
Nicole began her career in merchandising, buying, product development, and luxury retail with Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren, and Gucci before transitioning into executive search. She went on to hold recruitment leadership roles at Atrium Staffing and later served as Vice President of Business Development at 24 Seven, where she developed strategic client partnerships across retained, permanent, and interim search engagements.
Education
Nicole holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising management from the Fashion Institute of Technology and holds the Accredited Jewelry Professional credential from the Gemological Institute of America.
