Jeff Watchko

Judge
DISC Type : Dc

Senior Director, Category Management & Product Development at NAPA Auto Parts

Atlanta Metropolitan Area, United States

Overview

Jeff Watchko is a commercial leader with deep expertise in category management and product strategy, honed over 20 years. He has managed P&L for portfolios as large as $10B at The Home Depot and now leads category management and product development at NAPA Auto Parts.

Outside of his corporate roles, Jeff is the founder of Capitol Nine Five Consulting, focusing on retail and manufacturing strategy. He is a proud husband, publicly celebrating his wifes initiatives, and shows a keen interest in leveraging data and automation to solve retail challenges.

Unique fact: While at The Home Depot, he managed the P&L and all merchandising aspects for the $10 billion Major Appliances division.

Personality Overview

Fast But Wary

Demanding

Generally Skeptic

They do not care very much about building rapport or relationships.  They respond well to strong and respectful communication. They prefer to move quickly, and expect the same from others.

Topics They Care About

Retail Strategy
He frequently shares insights on retail trends, including assortment strategies, the impact of tariffs on retailers like Target, and the increasing need for unified data.
Merchandising Automation
He is interested in how AI can unlock strategic thinking by automating the 40% of manual tasks that merchants currently perform, a statistic he has shared.
P&L Management
His career is defined by full P&L ownership, including managing a $10B portfolio at The Home Depot and driving growth and profitability across various categories.

Media Appearances

Jeff has no verified media appearances

Work History

7-2025
Senior Director, Category Management & Product Development at NAPA Auto Parts
1-2025 - 1-2026
Principal & Founder at Capitol Nine Five Consulting
12-2023 - 12-2024
Senior Director - Pro Strategy at The Home Depot
11-2022 - 12-2023
General Manager | DMM - Major Appliances at The Home Depot
12-2021 - 11-2022
General Manager - Online Decor at The Home Depot

Education

1999 - 2003
Bachelor of Science (BS) from Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business
2009 - 2011
Master of Business Administration - MBA from University of Georgia - Terry College of Business

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 22 Location : Atlanta Metropolitan Area, United States Job Level : Senior Designation : Senior Director, Category Management & Product Development at NAPA Auto Parts
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Insights For Selling To Jeff

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use phrases like ‘it’s your decision’, ‘strategic impact’ etc.
  • Refer to testimonials from well-known industry leaders
  • Make sure that you circle back fast on any action items, it wins their trust

DONT's

  • Do not back off when challenged, respond with a confident, objective answer instead
  • Don't try too hard to forge relationships with them
  • Avoid being a storyteller and don’t try to oversell

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Jeff is

  • Confidence in impact is paramount to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Jeff

  • If they decide not to go ahead, they will say no without hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Jeff move?

  • If convinced, they can reach decisions quite fast.
  • Can Jeff take some risk or not?

  • They do not shy away from taking risks, but can be quite binary about them.

You And Jeff

Personality Compatibility


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