​Kelli Coleman is a strategic and transformational retail executive with extensive experience leading global consumer businesses across travel, hospitality, entertainment, and cruising. Known for combining creative vision with financial discipline, she has built and transformed large-scale retail portfolios, developed distinctive products and experiences, and led high-performing teams across complex, geographically distributed organizations. Her expertise includes retail strategy, brand and product development, business transformation, vendor partnerships, revenue growth, operational efficiency, and the creation of customer experiences that deepen people’s connection with a brand.

Kelli spent 15 years with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, including seven years as Vice President of Merchandise. In that role, she was accountable for the strategy and product portfolio of a retail business generating over $1 billion in annual revenue. Her responsibilities encompassed Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, ESPN Zones, Disney Golf operations, and the World of Disney store in New York City.
Leading a multidisciplinary organization of approximately 80 professionals, Kelli guided directors, managers, buyers, planners, product developers, graphic designers, character artists, franchise managers, and business strategists. She helped align creative development with commercial goals, ensuring that merchandise supported the identity of each Disney destination while contributing meaningfully to enterprise growth. She also served as a principal architect of a major Walt Disney Parks and Resorts merchandise reorganization, developing new structures that improved efficiency and allowed successful products and practices to be leveraged globally without sacrificing the individuality of Disney’s different brands and destinations.
Her Disney experience extended well beyond North America. Kelli collaborated with senior executives in Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai to develop merchandise strategies and products for international markets. She contributed to the launch of new businesses, franchises, and initiatives, including Disney Cruise Line, building an enduring interest in the intersection of travel, storytelling, retail, and guest experience.

Kelli later joined Holland America Group as Vice President of Onboard Revenue, Retail, and Photo. There, she led one of the cruise industry’s largest retail programs, encompassing Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, and P&O Cruises Australia. Her portfolio included hundreds of stores across dozens of ships and represented almost $400M in luxury and travel-retail business.

In this role, Kelli helped modernize a longstanding cruise-retail model by creating differentiated strategies for each brand, curating more relevant merchandise assortments, introducing new partnerships, and strengthening the connection between onboard retail and the destinations guests visited. Her work included luxury goods, branded merchandise, locally sourced products, photography, and experience-driven retail concepts. The transformation contributed to substantial increases in both gross revenue and net profit.

Kelli also guided her organization through the cruise industry’s post-pandemic return to service. She led teams through operational uncertainty, rebuilt vendor and business relationships, and helped reposition retail operations for a changed customer environment. Her leadership reflects an ability to remain decisive, resourceful, and optimistic while balancing immediate operational demands with long-term strategic goals.

Throughout her career, Kelli has been recognized as an innovator, trusted adviser, and collaborative leader. She is skilled at building consensus across large organizations, influencing stakeholders, and inspiring teams to deliver ambitious results. Her work is rooted in the belief that successful retail is more than a transaction: it is an opportunity to tell a story, create an emotional connection, and give customers a meaningful reminder of an experience they value.