Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 302. Climbing the Ladder: PUMA VP Erin Longin On Career Advice, Upholding Boundaries & Supporting Women In Sport

Transcript

302. Climbing the Ladder: PUMA VP Erin Longin On Career Advice, Upholding Boundaries & Supporting Women In Sport · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I think it is about flexibility and just about being
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: kind to yourself.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: It's okay. You know you tried your hardest.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Like you said, you surround yourself with people that can
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: see that, and you do the best you can.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: Hey, everyone, Emily Abadi here you are listening to episode
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: three hundred and two of Hurdle, a wellness focused podcast
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: where I talk to inspirational people about everything from their
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: highest ties and toughest moments to essential tips on how
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We all
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: go through our fair share of hurdles. My goal through
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: and move with intention so that you can stride towards
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: your own big potential and of course have some fun
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: along the way. For episode three hundred and two, I
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: have the play of sitting down with the ever lovely
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Aaron Longen. She's the vice president of the Running and
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: Training business unit at Puma, and wow, wow, wow, it
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: was so interesting to hear about everything that goes in
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: to the sneakers that we put on our feet right now,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: including how far back the creation process begins, how many
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: people are involved in that process, and the research that
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: they do to come up with exactly what is going
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: to make the ideal shoe. Now, of course, this episode
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: isn't all about sneakers. Aaron and I really dive into
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: her backstory talking about sixteen years she's been with the
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: company and how she made the pivot to Puma after
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: working at Timberland and before that. Fileen's throwback for anyone
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: who remembers Eileen. I really appreciate aaron sentiments around being
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: a working mom that she shares in this episode, and
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: the insight that she has for anyone who's really trying
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: to work their own way up the corporate ladder. This
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: conversation has a ton of career wisdom in it. It
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: really reminds me of a chat that I had Goodness
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: in twenty nineteen with the then vice president of Global
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: product at The North Face, Kelly Kortina. I'll link that
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: episode in the show notes, but yes, so much goodness
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: in here, and I'm so happy to bring this conversation
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: to the feed. Make sure you're following along with Hurdle
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: over on social It's at Hurdle Podcast. I am over
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: at Emily Abadi. If you're not yet subscribed to the
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: Weekly Hurdle newsletter.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: Get in on it.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: It's absolutely free, lands in your inbox every single Friday,
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: with so much of the same motivation and inspiration you
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: love from.
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: The show, and tons of the stuff that I'm.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: Digging right now, whether it's gear, what I'm reading, what
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: I'm watching, what I am writing about in journaling about you.
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: Get the gist again.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: The link to sign up for the Weekly Hurdle is
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: in the show notes.
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: With that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: Today. I am sitting down with Aaron Longen. She's the
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: vice president of the running and Training business unit over
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: at Puma.
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: How are we doing Erin?
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Good, doing very well. Happy to be here.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: I'm happy to have you. Not all that long ago
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: we were hanging out in Jamaica. Now we're hanging out virtually,
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: you and Boston, New York. I think I like the
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: former better me too.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: That bus ride was fun, that's for sure.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: What's going on in the world of Erin right now?
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: How are we feeling good?
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Feeling really good?
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Actually, it's been a very busy start to the year.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Jamaica was just one of many trips that I've already done.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: You know, we call twenty four of the Year of
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: Sport for us, so we're starting off with a lot
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: of events to get our message across our new brand campaign,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: a lot of new products coming, so it's been a whirlwind.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: In this moment, I have a little break, which feels
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: very nice. So a little bit of downtime before I
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: head back to Germany in about two weeks.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: So wow.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: Okay, So this isn't, though, like the first year where
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: you've been traveling a lot.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: Correct me if i'm wow.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: But you've been with Puma for sixteen years now, which
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: is so wild.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: It'll be sixteen years in May, so almost exactly sixteen,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: which is crazy. And travel's been a part of the
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: entire sixteen years. I think, you know, A big piece
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: of it is I've always been part of the international team,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: but I've been based here in Boston while the headquarters
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: of courses in Germany, right, so for every major meeting
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: we would always travel there, which to me felt really exciting.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I had never been to Germany. Now it's like my
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: second home. But international travel in my role has always
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: been a thing that I love and a big piece.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Of the job.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So sixteen years in one job, we'll definitely talk about, well,
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: not one job, but at one company.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: One company.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: We'll definitely talk a little bit about what that journey
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: has been like.
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: But I'm curious.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: Sixteen years ago, I know you worked at Timberland before
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: you worked at Puma. Did you anticipate a career so
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: rooted in sport?
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's what There were two things that
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: really drew me to Puma. First was sport because I
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: was really kind of a sport enthusiast.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: I've always been very active and fitness.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Focused and wellness focused, so I really liked the idea
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: of being part of a sport brand. And then the
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: second was kind of the attitude of Puma, like this
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: certain culture that really felt different to me, especially from
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: where I was coming from and my previous experiences. It
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: just was this very fast moving, non hierarchical culture that
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: I loved. From the second I talked to the people
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: in my interview, I could tell that it was really different.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: So I think there was some those two things were
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: really compelling to me. I never knew i'd be here
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: for sixteen years, so that's surprising, But those elements are
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: why I've I've always stayed I think, you know, from
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the start, it grabbed me and it's kind of kept
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: me engaged.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: And so for you being interested in sport, having a
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: vested interest in sport, talk to me a little bit
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: about what your relationship has been like with sport with
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: wellness since growing up.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Sure, I mean I never really played organized sports, so
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: in that way maybe different than how a lot of
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: kids grow up. I was big into gymnastics, so an
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: individual like competitive sport, and that's where you know, I
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: kind of learned about fitness and health and body health
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: and wellness and physical health. And then as I grew up,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: I decided not to keep competing gymnastics. I wasn't that good,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: but I did care about maintaining my physical health as
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: probably the priority. Especially as I was going through high
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: school college, I got really into the latest fitness trends.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: So when I was in college, this is going to
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: date me, Emily, but cardio kickboxing was a really big
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: thing and there were all these different studios opening and classes,
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: and I became a cardio kickboxing instructor. But I got
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: to learn a lot of the kick boxing fundamentals and
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: it felt really cool. So I started to teach classes,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: both in gym local gyms plus in my college gym,
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: and that world. Getting into that fitness world, you know,
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: there's so much in there right of how to eat
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: well and general health and wellness. From there, I got
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: into yoga again, like more individual things, but I liked
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: to work out with people to teach classes, and that's
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: kind of been the start of the journey. I think
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: running for me came a bit later when I didn't
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: have as much time to go to a lot of
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: these classes. Right Yoga would be ninety minutes, cardio kickboxing
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: was a minimum of an hour, And when I started
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: to have a family and just not have time, that's
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: when I picked up running because I was like I
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: could get out the door for thirty minutes real quick,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: even twenty minutes and feel better about myself. So that
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: came kind of later for me.
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: I would say, yeah, I can really relate to that
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: sentiment about running being something that you can do, get in,
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: get out. For me, when I started running, I didn't
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: feel as though I could ever be good at it,
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: and it became not only a tool for weight loss,
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: but an accessible tool for me because you could just
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: do that, you could get in and out When you
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: started running, do you remember it feeling very hard or
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: did you feel like you had that cardio base from
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: all of those lovely years of cardio kickpoxing.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I had a decent cardio base, but honestly,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: it still feels hard to me.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: Like running. I don't think running.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: It gets easier, of course, But I think what's interesting
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: is it's always challenging, and you can have great days
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: and tough days even when you're feeling really good. So
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: I think for me, running has always been part of
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: what I've done for fitness and wellness. I've never solely
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: done running, you know, as the only way of staying fit,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: but it's always been a piece and it's that piece
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: that is the most accessible for me, right because I
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: could be anywhere and all I have to do is
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: bring my running shoes and I can go quickly outside,
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: you know, get some alone time. I really started to
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: get into running once I had I have three kids,
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: and that was my way of getting out of the house,
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: getting away where nobody could get me or need me,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: and just giving myself that space. So I don't know
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: if I could say it ever got easier, because I
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: still think of running as really challenging, but it was
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: something that was very accessible, you know, in my life.
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: For the person listening to this that maybe they have
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: children of their own, or perhaps they're just in a
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: line of work or at a place in their life
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: right now where finding the time feels absolutely impossible. What
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: kind of advice or recommendation do you have for them
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: if they do wish to add some sort of movement,
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: whether it's running or not, to their routine.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's such a hard one, right, Like
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: I'll set big goals at the beginning of each week
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: and then you know, oh, I want to work out
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: seven days a week. Okay, Well this week I worked
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: out two days, So you know, those things are hard.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: And I think often for working mother are working parents,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: your own self care can fall to the side, right
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: because you've got to prioritize the kids and the job.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: And I think for me, what I tried to do
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: was just make intentional time for it and also give
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: myself a break. If I could get to three or
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: four days, then great. You know, if one day I
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: can go for a walk while I'm taking a call
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: and kind of multitask a bit, I think I got
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: really good at multitasking, which I know a lot of
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: people have to. Then great, there's exercise. At least I'm moving.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: So I think it's it's a couple things. I mean,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: just doing your best to fit it in and going
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: easy on yourself when you can't get to it. There's
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: always tomorrow, you know. It's don't get too discouraged. And
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: that's sort of what I tried to do. I think
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: there were stretches of time where I did a better
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: job of being consistent, and then, you know, thinking about
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: these last couple months, with the amount of travel, at times,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: it's just hard, you know.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, what I'm hearing you say is flexibility is king
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: and knowing that something.
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: Whatever it is, may feel better than nothing.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: It's not necessarily about guilting yourself saying that I must
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: get out and at least walk around the block. It's
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: like no, But if I take the time to walk
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: up around the block, I get to feel better because
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: I got to invest in myself.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: I think so, and I think people are just different.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: There's some that do well on a really regimented schedule.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: The alarm goes off every day, and you know they
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: can stick to it that way. I think I approached
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: it in a more flexible way, and that's just what
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: works for me. I had kids that were horrible sleepers,
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: so you know.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: We were up.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: I never knew how much sleep I was going to get,
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: you know, when I'd be waking up in the morning.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: So I sort of would just fit it into my
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: day whenever I could. And it's sometimes that work great,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: and at other times the day would go by and
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: I'd say, oh, I guess not today, right, So yeah, yeah.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, you know, it seems to me from what
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: I know about you, that you definitely have, uh, we're
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: going to make it work kind.
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: Of attitude right for you.
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: I mean, you grew up from a young age working
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: on a farm, right, So talk to me a little
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: bit about where that work ethic comes from and when
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: you really started to learn that you enjoyed really getting
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: after it in that way.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: I grew up in a small town in Connecticut, and
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: you know, very much a farm town, and I grew
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: up with the Italian side of my family that had
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: a very strong work ethic, and especially the women around me,
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: they were all working. My mother is a school teacher,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: and you know, she would work every day, come home,
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: take care of the kids, you know, run the whole household.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: And my grandmother, who lived two houses down, which you
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: know was a bit less common for her to be working.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: She worked full time as a nurse in a mental hospital.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: She also invested in real estate on the side, so
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: she was really involved in a lot of things. So
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I think I always saw that from the women that
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: influenced me the most. And the second I could get
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: a job, which I think at the time was like
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: age fourteen, you could work on a farm, I was like, well,
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: I want to money. I mean I had been babysitting
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: for years and years, but it was that idea of
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: making your own money, working like the people around you did,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: you know, contributing to your life so you can go
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: buy what you want. I remember wanting different clothes and things.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: My Mom's like, okay, do you just have to work,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: you know, save up, And that's how it was, and
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: that's what I did. So that's kind of what motivated me,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: you know, the people around me, but also the idea
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: that I wanted to be self sufficient, and yeah, started
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: on the farm.
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: And started on the farm.
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: So I mentioned before Puma, you were at Timberland, but
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: talk to me a little bit about the trajectory that
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: got you into these categories. What were you studying in
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: college and what did you think you wanted to do
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: versus where you are.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: I thought I wanted to be a psychologist because I
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: really love studying people and human behavior and understanding how
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: I could help people in that way. So I studied
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: psychology in my undergrad and as I was going through
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: I still felt that kind of compelling desire to work
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: with people, but not necessarily in that same way. And
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: while I really liked that, I also loved kind of
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: the business side of things. So I remember when I
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: was interviewing for jobs coming out of school, it was
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: a lot of finance companies that would come to my college,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: and the jobs were so data driven and seeming very dry,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: and then a department store came. It was the only
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: job that wasn't finance, I think, in the whole list
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: of companies I talked to, and it was this department
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: store based in Boston, basically like Macy's. It used to
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: be called Filin's. They're long out of business, but the
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: idea was to be in their executive training program to
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: become a buyer.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: I didn't know what any of that meant. I was like,
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: what's a buyer do?
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: Right, And they explained, you know, it is a bit
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: of understanding people and consumers. It's a bit of understanding
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: product and trends, and there's a kind of heavy, you know,
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: numbers and business and finance side to it. And I
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: was like, wow, it's so many things, and it was
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: the thing that definitely intrigued.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: Me the most.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: It was like a lot of things that I enjoyed.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: So I interviewed for that and ended up getting into
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: kind of the industry of consumer goods and products through that.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: So I was about five or six years in buying,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: and I bought for many different categories for this department store.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: For this department store.
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: It's interesting what I heard when you said that was
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: the excitement over getting to do a lot of things
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: but also learn about a lot of things, which for
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: some could be very overwhelming, but for you, it seemed
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: to be the carrot that drew you into that opportunity.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I loved it.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: It was very entrepreneurial in the sense of, like I mean,
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: I was only in my early twenties, and I remember
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: I had something like twelve million dollar budget, which to
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: me sounded like the most like unbelievable amount of money
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: that this company was trusting me to buy the inventory
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: right for the category. And I would meet with the
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: vendors and I took so much care and time into
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: selecting what I thought consumers would then come and purchase right.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: But the whole thing felt very exciting, and it was
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: really multifaceted, right because it's across it's business and also
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: kind of the art of trend and consumer behavior.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: So it was something I loved.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: And then I got to know a lot of brands
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: and people at brands, and that's where I worked closely
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: with Timberland at the time. So as that as that
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: department store merged, they merged with Macy's and became Macy's.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: I had been in talks with Timberland to go to
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: their office and join their product team, So I did
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: that just following that.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I remember. First of all, I just need to
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: disclaim that I remember Pileians. We definitely had a Filiens
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: Oh good, I think at the Trumble Mall way back
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: when before they redid the trumble Mall from where I
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: grew up. But with that said, making the transition from
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: that role, that first role, that exciting role as a buyer,
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: to then working at Timberland. You said you were in
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: these conversations. Do you remember how you felt about going
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: from one to the other.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I felt comfortable because I knew the people, I
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: knew the brand, and I liked the company. I liked
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: what they were doing, and you know, they really wanted
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: to bring my expertise of they're trying to sell two
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: people like me, right, So they're trying to make products
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: that buyers would would then buy, and they thought bringing
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: somebody into their team who really came from the buying
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: side or the retailer side would help them. For me,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: it would be a new experience because I could see
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: what it's like being in the brand.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: Side, right.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: That was always who I was working with, but I
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: didn't know what it was like to be within a brand.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: So I felt I could.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: Bring a lot to the table, but also would would
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: grow and learn a lot.
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: Got You, got You, And then you made that transition
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: to Puma, starting there as a product manager within the
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: woman's lifestyle footwear category. A little bit of a different
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: pivot for you, but coming from a brand that's very
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: focused on footwear.
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: A lot of aligning interests.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: There, Yeah, definitely. I mean I think the product category
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: was similar. I was doing women's footwear at Timberland. I
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: came over initially doing women's footwear for Puma on the
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: lifestyle side, so there was that connection.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: The brands are completely.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: Different, obviously, right, But I knew footwear already, so I
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: had that knowledge. Also, Puma was really working on breaking
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: into US, and I had that buying background of being
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: within a US retailer, So there are a couple of reasons. Plus,
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: I think our personalities really clicked in those interviews, where
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: you know, I like this kind of fast paced, entrepreneurial environment.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: That's what Puma seemed to be, and I think we
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: really kind of hit it off.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: So when you made the jump from Timberland to Puma,
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: was this a job at Puma that you saw and
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: applied for online?
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: Was the word of mouthing? How did that go?
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: That's a great I'm trying to remember.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: I think I was contacted by a recruiter and it
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: was somebody that you know sold it well, and I said,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: oh wow, it's just in Boston. I was just uh
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: the Boston at the time, so I was connected that way,
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: and then I mean every everyone I met at the brand,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: you know, I think I came for a handful of
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: interviews and was able to come in person and meet everybody,
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: and it was just it was a great kind of
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: experience from the start.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: I asked, because I'm sure there are many people listening
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: to this who have been in very different phases of
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: trying to get a new job, whether it be there.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: I mean, I've been in this position.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: Personally, I would let go from many jobs just because
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: of the nature of the publishing industry to feeling like
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: maybe it's time to seek out something new and having
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: that anxiety that goes hand in hand with that situation.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: Do you recall or have any advice for someone who
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: may be ready to take the leap and try something new.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I could probably advise better on today's market.
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: Yeah, totally.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, oh my god.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: But you know, I think because we obviously hire a
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: ton of people here and and I I you know,
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: the job industry is competitive, right, There's a lot of
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: great candidates. I think think certainly finding connections is the best.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: Connections and perseverance are the two things that I think
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: can help you stand out in a really you know,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: competitive job market.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: We get a lot of.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: Applications for one single role, right, But the people that
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: will rise to the top, in my opinion, are the
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: ones who found kind of a connection in so somebody
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: calls me or I get an email, Hey, can you
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: check out this resume this person? And now it's so
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: much easier to do that than it was sixteen years ago. Right,
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: find connections on LinkedIn, contact people on LinkedIn, and then
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: I do have a couple examples of people who were
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: so like they persevered on LinkedIn so consistently with me,
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: where the first couple times I'd be like, okay, I
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: get a lot of LinkedIn messages, I can't keep up
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: with all of it. But they found a way, you know,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: whether it was repetition or it was what they were saying,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: But there are a couple of people here today because
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: they caught my attention on LinkedIn through direct messages, through
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: the way they were able to contact either me directly
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: or all of a sudden, I'm sitting at lunch and
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: I said, gosh, you know, this person Annie just keeps
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: messaging me. She seems like she really wants to work
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: at Puma five other people say, oh my god, she
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: messaged me too. So you know, I do think there
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: is something about you know, if you you can't do
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: that with fifteen jobs, and also you don't want to
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: do that, right, But if you really have your heart
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: set on a certain brand or a certain company, there's
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: a way to show them that, right And I think
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: some people have done that, and it's really it's really
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: stood out to me.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: It's super interesting that sentiment because I think that common
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: mentality really is, well, I don't want to bother them,
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: but yeah that I respond, what's the worst that's going
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: to happen? And you're going to be exactly where you
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: are right now without the job. Right, So, if you
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: can do your best to advocate for yourself, clearly it's
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: going to do something, whether or not you know it's
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: the desired outcome, it's better than nothing.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: I think so, And if you do it in a
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: respectful and kind way, and you know, back off if
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: someone asked you to back off. Definitely not suggesting to
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: harass anybody, but you know, I do think working your connections,
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: you know, and then and then that perseverance can really help.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: Taking a break from today's episode to give some love
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: to my sponsor at Element.
• 22:23
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• 22:59
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• 23:03
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• 23:05
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• 23:36
  Speaker 4: Let's get back to it.
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: One of the biggest reasons that I wanted to have
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: you come on the show is because I just so
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: admire not only the perseverance that you've had, but the
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: dedication that you have to your career. I know that
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: I hate when individuals interview other women, especially women that
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: interview other women, and they're like, how do you do
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: it all? Because that's a question that no one would
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: ever ask a man, right, But I really look at
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: you and I'm like, Wow, it's so impressive to hear
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: you talk about trying to find the time for yourself,
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: being honest about the fact that it doesn't always happen,
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: being a mother to three children, and then also being
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: on the higher ups over at Puma. So when I
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: say that to you and kind of bring that full circle,
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: how does that make you feel?
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: I think I have gotten that question a lot, and
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: I think I'm careful not to set some unrealistic, you know, standard,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: because I struggle to do it all. You know what,
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's hard. I think it's hard
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: for women for sure, but it's hard for men too
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: that are trying to juggle a lot of things. And
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: I think that my decisions have always been that I
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: wanted to have a career and I wanted to have
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: a family, right, and those two things are very hard
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: to balance, for sure, And there's a lot of guilt,
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: and there's a lot of prioritizing, and it's like it's
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: a daily struggle. But I still choose that because because
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: having that balance in my life is what brings me happiness.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: And I personally think it sets a good family dynamic
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: and a good example for my boys to see their mom,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: you know, contributing and working in that way. So again,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: I don't think that's right for everybody, but it's what
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: felt right for me. But it's a it's a constant,
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: you know, every day it's okay today, what do I
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: need to do?
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: I mean, everybody has this What do I need to
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: do most today? What's the most important?
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: Where am I going to have to cut? Who am
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: I going to have to disappoint? I mean, those are
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: the that's the reality of the daily decisions. You know
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: what a strong question. Who am I going to disappoint?
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: Am I going to disappoint?
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Do I have to push out these three meetings people
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: I said I would sit with. Do I have to
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: not attend, you know, my boys basketball game? Or you know,
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: there's going to be something like there's going to be
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: something where you're like, oh, I can't. I can't get
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: to it all In that way, it's not easy, but
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: I try not to focus on those parts as much
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: as what did I accomplish today?
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: And really I think having all of this sort of
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: that I'm trying to juggle has made me in a
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: way better on both sides, because I can prioritize better
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: now than I think I could have, you know, ten
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: fifteen years ago, and I can put my energy where
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: it matters on both sides, and I think in that
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: way have better impact really both as a mom and
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: also you know, in my role at PUMA.
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: I also believe that it's having our reasonable expectation of
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: yourself and then also surrounding yourself with people that know
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: that you have the best intentions and that is all
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: that you can do is the best with what you have,
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: right because if you surround yourself with people that know
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: that you're doing the best you can with what you have,
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: then there isn't going to be a blame game moment.
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: It's like, no, this is how it is now, this
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: is how it is today, and we're going to show
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: up and try to show up again tomorrow and do
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: the best we can with that as well.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: Totally.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: And we always say that you know, about progress and
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: not perfection. I take that really to heart because I
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: think if we can just do better, if we can
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: improve things, you know, if we can move the needle
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: a bit every day, I mean, that's what we're going for,
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: both in personal life but also you know, in professional life.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: And I think if people set their expectations too high,
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: then they're going to really struggle and have that overwhelming
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: feeling of failure, you know. So I think I think
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: it is about flexibility and just about being kind to yourself.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: It's okay, you know, you tried your hardest, Like you said,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: you surround yourself with people that can see that, and
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: you do the best you can.
• 27:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure.
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: So remind me how old is your oldest son.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: My oldest is eleven. They're two years apart, so they're
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: eleven nine and seven.
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: Okay, so five years give or take into your time
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: at Puma, you had your first child. And at that point,
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: did you know, like I definitely want to keep doing
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: both of these things or do did you ever have
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: any doubts?
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: No, I knew I always wanted to work, for sure.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: It really never crossed my mind any other way. I
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: think it was instilled in me in a young age
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: that like, you do really well in school. I tried
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: to get really good grades in school, you go to college,
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: you get a good job, and like that's your life path.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: So I didn't really question that.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: And I always, again was surrounded by women that were
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: working and contributing, so I really didn't consider something else
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: for myself. And I think, you know, faced with things
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: like the cost of child's care, like there's a lot
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: of reasons to stop working, right, But I just knew
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: that for me, I loved working.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: I loved having a career.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: I liked being part of the business world, and I
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: didn't think i'd be personally as happy if I gave
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: that up. So I guess I always thought I would
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: just keep going. And I remember my maternity leave with
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: something horribly short with the first kid because the laws
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: weren't the same as they are now. And I took
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: like maybe maximum three months or even less and came back.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: I mean so sleep deprived with a completely messy infant,
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: tried to get back into work, but there was no
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: other option.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: I was coming back, you know.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: So I was going to ask you what was the
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: biggest hurdle in that transitionary time for you?
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think learning how to juggle both right,
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: just trying to like figure it out. I mean it
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: was crazy with nursing and trying to figure out how
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: to be a mom and have a bit, you know,
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: a baby and still succeed at work. I think it's
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: it's so hard for new parents, I mean moms and dads.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: You know, that first kid is like whoa, what just happened?
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: You know, everything changes. So I think now, you know,
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: managing a team of people, I'm really conscious of that
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: and just the what people have to juggle, it can
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: be a lot. And I think being part of a
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: German company you can see that. Actually in Europe people
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: get a lot longer leave. You know, it's quite different
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: than it is here in the US. So we live
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: here and obviously we have to deal with the laws
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: and benefits here, but I think there's just bringing that
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: compassion to the team of like, hey, you've got to
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: stay home this afternoon, You've got things to deal with.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: I mean, of course, right.
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: So again doing the best you can with what you have,
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: and like showing up to your team with that level
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: of compassion, I'm sure is something that's gratefully appreciated, you know,
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: within the realms of flexibility as the year's been on
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: and you ebbed and flowed into different roles as you
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: reflect on your journey thus far at Puma, do you
• 30:39
  Speaker 3: have a role or an era if we want to
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: call it, that maybe was your favorite.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: I mean this one by far. I've been in this
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: role now since twenty nineteen. I oversee now the Running
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: and Training you know, business unit here at Puma, which
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: is the product creation team for both the running category
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: and the training category, all the apparel and footwear. And
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: I think when I started in twenty nineteen, I was
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: already within the team, but kind of moved up a
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: level to oversee it. And I remember at the time
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: our CEO said, you know, now, with you in this role,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: I want you to take on the task of relaunching
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: running for the brand. So it wasn't just moving into
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: a role that had things going and kind of maintaining.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: It was like, you need to relook at the entire category, reshape.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: It set an entirely new strategy. So I remember at
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: the time it felt really overwhelming but also exciting. Now
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: I am four years into that journey and we're seeing now,
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: you know, it takes years to figure out what we're
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: going to do bring that product to market. Now we're
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: a couple of years in and we're constantly refining it,
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: you know, and building it. So I think it's been
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: It's been definitely the most exciting part of my career
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: and the most challenging at the same time.
• 31:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 32:00
  Speaker 3: I mean, someone hears the words like I oversee like
• 32:04
  Speaker 3: development of new product, and it's like, okay, how does
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: one even oversee? How do you know how to create?
• 32:11
  Speaker 3: Who do you talk to when you want to change
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: a shoelace? Like, There's so many things that you had
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: to learn over time to excel not only within this role,
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: but of course the role's previous to this one.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: For you.
• 32:22
  Speaker 3: Now, when you typically explain, like what happens in a
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: day to day. Give us some examples of the things
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: that you have your hands in.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: I know, nobody knows what I do. I may have
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: no idea.
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: They're like, just grab it all. Design the shoes. I'm like, no,
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: I'm not a designer. I mean right now, I oversee
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: kind of the general strategy of the of the categories.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: So that's from the product that we create, you know,
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: where we basically want to focus around the world to
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: sell the product the stories that we want to tell.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: So really, how is.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: A brand we want to show up in the world
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: of running or show up in the world training. My
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: team here consists of a couple different roles. There's product managers,
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: which set the basically the strategy for the product range.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: So they'll decide exactly what we're talking about shoes, what
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: prices do they need to be, what type of benefits
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: do they need to have? You know, they'll kind of
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: decide that range. Architecture designers who then will take that
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: direction and they'll actually design the shoe.
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: That's the most obvious role.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: We work closely with developers who then figure out how
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: to turn you know, a design into a three dimensional
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: actual product. With our partnership with our Asia sourcing team,
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: and then we have marketing people who then say, Okay,
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: now we've created this product, how are we going to
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: tell the consumer?
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: How are we going to bring it to life?
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: And that's for of course, just one item, but we're
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: creating an entire range of products across footwear apparel that
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: all needs to work together.
• 34:00
  Speaker 4: There So no, there's nothing going on. It's basically what
• 34:03
  Speaker 4: you're saying.
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: Much so in any given day you could have a
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: be in meetings or the myriad of those people weighing, in, strategizing,
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: et cetera.
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, And we work on kind of two different
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: calendars a year. We do a spring summer season and
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: we do an autumn holiday season, so that's sort of
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: the cadence. So everything does go on a bit of
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: a calendar or process. Right. It's not a total free
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: for all, but there's a lot that comes up and
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: we want to be able to chase opportunities. Or we'll
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: see something from the competition and we want to have
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: our solution, or you know, we'll come up with a
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: new technology that we want to bring to market quick,
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: or we'll sign a new athlete and there's a new
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: opportunity that they brought to us. So there's a lot
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: that we do outside of the normal process, but the majority,
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: because we're a very large brand, does run on a
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: product development calendar.
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: For those that aren't aware, give us some insight into
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: how long it's takes from perhaps conception to release of
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: a shoe.
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: How far in advance are you working right now?
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: I mean we're on average eighteen months. There's some more
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: highly technical products that we start earlier because they need
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: a lot more testing and validation, And then there's some
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: opportunities that we can chase a lot faster, certainly reacting
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: with color graphics, things we could do closer to market, right.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: But then highly technical new foam development or a new
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: propulsion plate like some of those technology advancements take much longer.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: But the majority of our product line is eighteen months, right.
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: And so you also mentioned working closely with marketing. We're
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: talking about how these products are coming to life, what
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: the consumer is seeing when they finally do a big
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: part of Puma's strategy over the last few years, which
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: I'm certainly on board with, is getting behind a lot
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: of really badass women, specifically within the running space, but
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: also bigger than that.
• 36:00
  Speaker 4: Chat with me a little bit about why that's important
• 36:03
  Speaker 4: to you.
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know, Puma's always been a brand
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: that supports female athletes and really all athletes, right, we
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: kind of have this idea everybody that wants to play
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: can play, and we want to make sure to enable
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: access to sports. So we don't just do that in running.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: But as we were relaunching running, we said, this is
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: the perfect time to make sure that from the start
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: we cater to the female runner. And that was really
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: a bit different than how the industry was set up
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: previously because one, if you look back even twenty years ago,
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: participants in races, marathons, it was very heavy male, male dominated, right,
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: male driven. But we saw that really change consumer participation
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: in registered races now I think in twenty eighteen was
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: fifty to fifty and now more women than men are
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: actually registering for races, so a huge change in twenty years.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: So first, the consumer engagement really shifted to be predominantly
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: female glow, but the industry really hadn't caught up. The
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: way the industry previously was making shoes was always starting
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: with the male runner first, and that was through prototyping
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: only in men's sizes, and then once it was tested
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: and ready, opening up the rest of the sizes, right,
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: we would say, shrinking it down to female sizes. We've
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: made sure that as we relaunched and running that we
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: treat it differently. So every new shoe we create, we
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: open in both men's and women's sizes from the start
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: so that we can test and validate on males and
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: females both in our labs and then you know, taking
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: out for wear testing as well. So that's one way
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: we test on both genders. We learn and we adjust
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: based on the input. And then also the foot shape
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: is actually different. There's slight differences between a male foot
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: and a female foot, and what creates the shape of
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: the shoe is something called the last. It's basically a form,
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: and the form in the industry was always based on
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: the male foot, right, and then just sides down for women.
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: But what we've done now is we have two different
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: forms or lasts. We have a male one based on
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: the male foot, and we have a female based on
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: the female foot. And the female foot typically is a
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: little bit narrower in the heel and a slightly wider
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: in the forefoot. So we have now created basically a
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: fit for our shoes, for all of our running shoes
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: for women based on the female foot, which we think
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: is going to just bring her more comfort, you know,
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: for all of her running needs. So between the way
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: we are fitting our products and the way we're testing
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: our products, we're fully focusing on women. And then you
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: asked about athletes, we had the chance as well to say,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: what's our athlete approach going to be?
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: You know, who are we going to sign?
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: And that's kind of a nice thing of starting from scratch, right,
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: we could define that and we said, let's support women.
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: Let's support female runners, you know, from your everyday runner
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: through offering products that are better for her and then
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: the elite athletes as well. Right, and let's also support
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: women at all different phases of their journey.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: We just had a great comeback story with Vivian in Paris,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: right where she had been out for two years having
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: i think her second baby, came back trained really hard,
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: you know, and ended up on the podium in Paris.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: Edna as well, aDNA kipleigat another amazing accomplishment recently, another
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: woman who had been running marathons for a long time.
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: Takes some time off to have kids and came back.
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: So it's about new of course, younger elite athletes, and
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: then also women who have been doing this a while
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: and still deserve support from brands. So we took that
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: decision to really focus on women within our athlete portfolio
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: from the start.
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I love that.
• 39:51
  Speaker 3: I mean, I remember, I think it was maybe three
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: years ago at the Boston Marathon weekend, I did a
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: sit down with Annie Frisbee and Dakota Lendworm. And now
• 40:00
  Speaker 3: to see Dakota heading to a Paris for the Olympics,
• 40:04
  Speaker 3: it's so cool to to really watch that evolution, not
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: just within her as an athlete, but to see a
• 40:11
  Speaker 3: brand support someone as they're working toward whatever it is
• 40:15
  Speaker 3: that their potential is at any given moment.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, And I mean we can't talk about, you know,
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: female athletes without mentioning Molly's Seidel too, right. So she
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: was one of the first, if not the first, who
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: we were able to convince to come over to our
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: brand when we were I mean we didn't even have
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: I think we had prototypes of product made, and we
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: showed her and we said, we promised it's going to
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: be really great product.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: We have amazing technology, you know, and.
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: She was obviously picking up a lot of heat, and
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: she was really gaining quite a following and some major accomplishments,
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: and and she sort of took that leap with us
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: and then went on to win Bronze and Tokyo, So
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: you know, she took a swing and joined U and
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: then a lot of these athletes followed, and I think
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: she really helped to build that confidence out there.
• 41:06
  Speaker 3: As a female leader at your company. What would you
• 41:10
  Speaker 3: say is your biggest piece of advice to other women
• 41:14
  Speaker 3: that are really working to kind of climbing that proverbial
• 41:18
  Speaker 3: corporate ladder.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: Oh God, that is such a hard question. What I
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: say to people is to try to find areas that
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: you can really add value, which sounds so obvious, right,
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: But I think it's not enough now to just check
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: the box of your job tasks, right, because there's a
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: lot of people that do a good job. If you
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: really want to climb, you have to find ways to
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: go above and beyond. You have to think outside the
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: box and take that initiative. And I think Puma has
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: this unique environment where you can actually drive change if
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: you take a hold of something and you go and
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: you could be at my level doing it, or you
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: could be three weeks into the company with that type
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: of attitude and that type of approach, and people will
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: give you space to do it, you know, if you
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: really come organized and with a plan that can drive impact.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: And I think it goes back to prioritizing too, right,
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: like finding those things that it's not just showing up
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: to work from you know whatever, it is nine to
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: five every day, but it's really trying to find where
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: you can drive change. Because even though this is a
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: big brand, if you think of it like a small brand,
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: you really want the people around who are going to
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: make a difference. And it's so obvious and simple, but
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: male or female, I mean, that's the way to move up.
• 42:44
  Speaker 3: Can you give an example of a time where you
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: felt as though you had a really crazy idea and
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: it ended up being the idea that everyone got on
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: board with.
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: Yes, I mean I think that happened within the first
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: couple months that I was in the brand. I remember
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: going to my boss and just making a nice suggestion
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: about a different way we could do something at a
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: key meeting, and she's like, oh, yeah, that's great, let's
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: do that. And I was like, wait, that's it, Like,
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: we're just going to do it now. She's like, yeah,
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: that's a great idea, We'll just do it that way.
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: And it changed, you know, the process of the milestone
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: for all the teams. And I was like, oh my god,
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: this is so embarrassing. I've only been here a couple
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: of weeks. But I realized that was the culture. People
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: were okay with that. They were like, oh, great idea, Yeah,
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: we'll do it that way. And I think that's something
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: that for me, I've loved because there's that openness here
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: that is not the case that a lot of other brands.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: It's very structured, it's very set, often in their ways.
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: We know, I know a lot of people in this
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: industry and it's harder to make change. You would need
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: sign offs from six levels of managers to change a
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: meeting like that, right, and Puma doesn't operate like that.
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: We're now a bit.
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: More structured than sixteen years ago because our brand has
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: what quadruple in size since since when I joined, So
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: of course we had to add some infrastructure, but we've
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: never lost that spirit. And you know, I say that
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: to people that join, Oh how do I move up
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: how do I make impact here. It's bring your ideas
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: to the table because people here will listen. You know,
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: they're not set in their ways at all.
• 44:20
  Speaker 3: I think you're also bringing up a really great point
• 44:22
  Speaker 3: when we talk about figuring out what kind of company
• 44:25
  Speaker 3: feels right for you. Is not only a company where
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: you can be authentically yourself, but also one where you're
• 44:31
  Speaker 3: excited by the work. And I know and I respect
• 44:34
  Speaker 3: that to be excited by your work is a privilege.
• 44:38
  Speaker 3: But I also firmly believe that if you are willing
• 44:41
  Speaker 3: to put in the work to combine both your passions
• 44:46
  Speaker 3: and you know, within your pursuits, then you can find
• 44:50
  Speaker 3: a way to monetize both of those things into a career.
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: I completely agree, and I think that, you know, I
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: do feel really fortunate because I love the work that
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: I do, and I love the company and the culture
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: that I'm in right and I think it is trying
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: to find both because there are people that want a
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: front facing role where they're you know, in the action,
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: and there's people that don't want that, they want a
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: structured role or they want to be behind the scenes.
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: And you know, I think that Puma is a specific
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: culture that works well for me, but I realize.
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: It won't work for everybody.
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: You know, there's people that don't want things that are
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: changing all the time, or they don't want that lack
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: of hierarchy, because there's also safety in hierarchy, right, There's
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: a repetition and expectation that's there. So I think it
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: is about doing work you love, but also really finding
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: a culture and a company that just aligns to the
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: way you like to work.
• 45:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure. So what would you say right now?
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: You mentioned a lot of travel on deck, and you've
• 45:49
  Speaker 3: already been on the road quite a bit. What else
• 45:52
  Speaker 3: really excites you right now about what you're doing within
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: your role.
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, we're in the middle of this running relaunch,
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: you know, a few years into having product in the market,
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: and this year is a big year for us because
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: we're updating. We're bringing the next updates of many of
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: our key products.
• 46:08
  Speaker 2: So we kicked off this.
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: Year with a third version of our Velocity, which is
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: our everyday kind of trainer really works well for every
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: type of runner, and then as we get to the
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: back half of this year, we're updating our dev eight franchise,
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: which is kind of our signature shoe. It's our plated
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: daily trainer, and then we also have our plated race
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: day model, the DEV eight Elite, So we're bringing the
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: third version of that to market. And I'm so excited
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: about the advancements that we've made this year on all
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: of these these product evolutions. We're also heading toward the
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: Olympic Games, and I think you know very well that
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: we have a really big love and dedication to track
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: and field. Track and field has been part of our
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: brand since the start of the Puma brand, and it's
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: something that you know, coming to these Olympic Games, our teams,
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: you know, have been working so hard on getting the
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: products ready, right. I mean, we have over three hundred athletes.
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: Of course we'll see exactly who qualifies, but we create
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: products across all of the events, all of the athletes
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: we have. I think we're at nineteen federations now, so
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: really creating you know, head to toe solutions and all
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: building up to these these milestones of the Olympic Games
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: where where both our athletes and our products can shine.
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: So heading back to Paris again this summer, so really exciting.
• 47:32
  Speaker 4: Big year, big year.
• 47:33
  Speaker 3: You know, earlier we were talking about the navigating that
• 47:37
  Speaker 3: you have to do when it comes to daily asking yourself,
• 47:39
  Speaker 3: who may be the person that I'm going to disappoint today.
• 47:42
  Speaker 3: A big thing that you've had to learn a lot
• 47:44
  Speaker 3: about is setting and establishing boundaries for both yourself personally
• 47:48
  Speaker 3: and professionally. Can you talk a little bit about what
• 47:51
  Speaker 3: learning about setting your boundaries has looked like for you.
• 47:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's hard still.
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: You know, It's like I try to make some rules
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: to live by, but then you know, have to adjust
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: them at times. Right, So there's a couple things that
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: I think I've been able to really maintain. I used
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: to travel because we travel so much internationally. The trips
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: would be ten days to two weeks sometime. And once I,
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: you know, had a family and felt really responsible to
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: be home for my kids, I kind of set a
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: boundary that I can't travel for more than a week.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: A week felt reasonable, feels like I could do a
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: lot of work in a week anywhere in the world,
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: and that also feels like a reasonable amount of time
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: to be away from the kids. I try to avoid
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: traveling on weekends, but I have to say that's tough,
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: because international travel it's just unavoidable. A lot of the times,
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: but when I can, I schedule to be away just
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: during the week, right, So those are some things, you know.
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: I try not to work at night unless I have to,
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: so I don't make it a routine to come home,
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: open my computer and check emails. Is Honestly, sometimes I'm like,
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: I should do that. I tried now to, right, unless
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: I really have to. So I try to set my
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: own boundaries so that when i'm home, I'm with the family,
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: and when I'm at work, i'm at work, right, And
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: that's hard, it's not perfect, but I try for that.
• 49:15
  Speaker 3: You know, something that always resonated with me is this
• 49:18
  Speaker 3: sentiment that you teach people how to treat you. And
• 49:21
  Speaker 3: over the last few years, the tool that has become
• 49:24
  Speaker 3: my absolute best friend is scheduling emails. I decided that
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: I was going to stop responding ninety nine point nine
• 49:34
  Speaker 3: percent of the time, Like it has to be an
• 49:35
  Speaker 3: emergency for me to send an email, like after let's
• 49:39
  Speaker 3: say six thirty pm. Like I really try so that
• 49:43
  Speaker 3: the next morning, if I have a response to the
• 49:45
  Speaker 3: email that comes in at eight o'clock at night, you
• 49:48
  Speaker 3: will get it after nine am the next day. If
• 49:50
  Speaker 3: I want to teach you that that's when I handle
• 49:53
  Speaker 3: my business.
• 49:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that.
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: I think that is really good and I think that's
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: something that I can probably improve and it is something
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: on my mind right, especially in my role where I
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: have a team. If I'm sending emails at night, then
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: people think they have to be right exactly. I think
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: it is setting both your own personal boundaries but also
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: the expectations for the team, right, and the team culture.
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: So I am careful of that. I can't say I
• 50:21
  Speaker 2: always follow.
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sometimes sitting on the couch, I'm like, that was
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: a perfect time to send them emails.
• 50:27
  Speaker 2: But you're right, I think that makes sense.
• 50:30
  Speaker 3: Just an example of how boundaries work for me. But
• 50:32
  Speaker 3: I totally can sympathize and relate to the concept that
• 50:37
  Speaker 3: you may have a goal to obtain or to uphold
• 50:40
  Speaker 3: a certain boundary and it might not always work for you,
• 50:43
  Speaker 3: and that's okay, right. You just need to be clear
• 50:46
  Speaker 3: on what it is that you do want so that
• 50:48
  Speaker 3: you can then move forward in a way that kind
• 50:50
  Speaker 3: of aligns with your goals and your values.
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and be willing to check yourself when look, I
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: said I wasn't going to send emails at night, but
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: I just did three nights in a row.
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: Got to stop now, you know.
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: I think it's okay to recognize when you're not quite
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: where you want to be in terms of the values
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: you set and then do better.
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: So far, you've offered me some really great gems when
• 51:12
  Speaker 3: it comes to both leveling up within business and also
• 51:15
  Speaker 3: of course making your way through this career path. When
• 51:18
  Speaker 3: you think about some of the best advice that's been
• 51:20
  Speaker 3: offered to you professionally over the last sixteen years at Puma,
• 51:25
  Speaker 3: what would you say really hits home with you.
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: I think the advice to take time for yourself is
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: really a big one. I think for me, it's something
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: I've gotten better at in recent years. I think I
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: put myself last for a while, right where it was
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: like just work, work, and I mean, okay, working is
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: also for myself, and climbing the career ladder and all
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: of that felt fulfilling. Taking care of the family and
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: the kids, there's fulfillment in that. But really alone time
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: is something that I didn't have much of. And whether
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: that's you know, going for a run, as we talked about,
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: going for a walk, going to get my you know,
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: nails done more frequently going for a massage, just going
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: to sit on the beach because I live right near
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: the beach. I find that I'm better at everything else
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: when I can take a break for myself. Some of
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: that can come through traveling, right because I someone said
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: to me, oh, how can you stand flying so much? Like,
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: you know, don't you hate it? And I'm like, I
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: love flying. When I get on the airplane and I'm
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: just sitting in that seat and there's nobody that can
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: get to me, I feel like, Yeah, that's alone time
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: for me. It's kind of therapeutic, you know. I can
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: sit there and watch four movies. I can do some emails,
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: I can read a book. That's to me like a
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: very kind of meditative place to be. So I can't
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: say I always carve out the time, but within my
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: life I try to find those moments and then really
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: take advantage of them.
• 53:00
  Speaker 3: Make time to put your oxygen mask on first. Yes,
• 53:04
  Speaker 3: so often, I'm sure you said you're getting so many
• 53:08
  Speaker 3: LinkedIn messages, right.
• 53:09
  Speaker 4: People want in.
• 53:10
  Speaker 3: They want to hear about what you have going on.
• 53:12
  Speaker 3: They probably aren't roles at your company. They look to
• 53:14
  Speaker 3: you as someone, rightfully so, who is very accomplished in
• 53:17
  Speaker 3: what you do when you look in the mirror and
• 53:20
  Speaker 3: it's just airin at home, what do you see looking
• 53:22
  Speaker 3: back at you?
• 53:23
  Speaker 4: Oh?
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: Wow, No one's ever asked me that. I mean, I
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: think I see someone trying to do their best.
• 53:28
  Speaker 2: You know.
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: I want to be happy, I want to be successful.
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: I want to be a great mother and role model
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: for my kids. I think I'm pretty realistic. And there's
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: days I look in the mirror and I'm like, yes,
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: this is a good day, I did it, you know.
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: And there's days I'm like, oh my god, I'm so tired.
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: I'm a failure. Right, So I think I have those
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: ups and downs like anybody, and I think I just
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: see somebody who, you know, can continue to try and
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: continue to do better at the things that feel like
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: they're failsailures, or you know, push those successes farther ahead.
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: And I try to keep things in perspective. I'm a
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: pretty big optimist. I think you know that about me, right,
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: I can do pretty well in the face of kind
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: of change and challenges. So I try to focus on
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: the bright side.
• 54:16
  Speaker 2: For sure.
• 54:16
  Speaker 4: Focusing on the bright side.
• 54:17
  Speaker 3: We love that you mentioned the word failure, and of course,
• 54:21
  Speaker 3: as I know as you do as well. That this
• 54:23
  Speaker 3: always comes with a set of air quotes around it,
• 54:26
  Speaker 3: especially when we're talking on a podcast. What you reflect
• 54:29
  Speaker 3: over your time over at Puma, if you're comfortable sharing,
• 54:33
  Speaker 3: I'd be super curious about maybe what you felt like
• 54:37
  Speaker 3: at the time was such a big failure for you
• 54:39
  Speaker 3: that not only turned around and became a big learning moment,
• 54:42
  Speaker 3: but maybe in retrospect wasn't a failure at all.
• 54:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: You know, in my role and in the role of
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: my team, there's constant successes and failures. I mean, every
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: day we're analyzing what's working and what's not working. Right,
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: we create a lot of products, we put them out
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: in the market, and then eventually the consumer votes and tells.
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: Us that was good, we like it, or that wasn't good.
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: So we're constantly looking at that and I think maybe
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: that diffuses the impact of some of the failures, right,
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: because it's all the time. Now there's larger failures. There's
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: strategy failures or you know, failures that can cost more
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: money than one product. Of course, I think I luckily
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: haven't had too many of those, right, But I think
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: one thing we always say is don't be afraid to fail.
• 55:34
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: I think here, especially creating product and especially in a
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: category like running, we want to push the boundaries. We
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: want to stay ahead, we want to bring new things
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: to market, and sometimes it can feel scary, it can
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: feel like, you know, not sure if this is going
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: to work. But it's better to try. It's better to
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: do things and fail and learn from those failures than
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: to be paralyzed, right and not try. And I think, look,
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: we're not I'm not in a role where we're saving
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: lives or anything, so failures here in product and in
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: the sport industry aren't so bad in the grand scheme
• 56:12
  Speaker 1: of life. And I do keep that very much in perspective.
• 56:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And I also think it goes back to what
• 56:18
  Speaker 3: we were talking about before, centering around this idea that
• 56:22
  Speaker 3: if you don't try, then you're exactly where you started.
• 56:25
  Speaker 3: And some of the you know, the biggest game changing
• 56:28
  Speaker 3: moments for the brand have been because you and your
• 56:31
  Speaker 3: team said.
• 56:31
  Speaker 4: Let's give this a whirl, let's see what happens, and
• 56:34
  Speaker 4: it worked.
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: And that can go throughout even every day, right, Really
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: trying to encourage team members like make a decision, just
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: make a decision and go, it's so much better than
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: being paralyzed about the decision or being afraid to make
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: a call. And you know, we try to really enable
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: that type of thinking at all levels so people feel
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: empowered and they don't feel afraid to fail. I think
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: that's really important for a corporate, especially one in sporting goods,
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: where again we're not saving lives, right, it's about being fast,
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: and it's about making fast decisions and just going.
• 57:10
  Speaker 4: And just going.
• 57:11
  Speaker 3: Well, you spoke when we started chatting about, you know,
• 57:14
  Speaker 3: the hurdle that was learning how to get back to
• 57:18
  Speaker 3: a place that you knew you wanted to be, which
• 57:20
  Speaker 3: was juggling both the personal and the professional.
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: It certainly had chaos is where I like to be.
• 57:27
  Speaker 3: It certainly had its challenges in the area of total chaos.
• 57:31
  Speaker 3: But if you look back to that time period right now,
• 57:34
  Speaker 3: dealing with all of the hurdles that went hand in
• 57:36
  Speaker 3: hand with that. Knowing what you know now, what advice
• 57:40
  Speaker 3: would you offer to a younger you.
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: I think when I compare myself then and now, I'm
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: easier going now, right, but less sort of type a
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: about everything like I before had to do everything, which
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: in my mind was at some perfect level, right, And
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: I think that was impossible to maintain. So I now
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: put that intensity to where it matters and let other
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: things that really don't matter fall off.
• 58:11
  Speaker 2: And that's okay.
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: So I would probably tell myself to him out a
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: little bit. I don't know how hard it's going to get,
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: so calm down, you know, I don't know. I think
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: it's just everybody goes through life, right, and there's times
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: when there's a lot on your plate and there's times
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: when when there's less. But certainly living through having more
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: on my plate has helped me to calm down about
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: the things that really don't matter, prioritize the things that do.
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: Put all energy into that, you know, both in work
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: and in my personal life.
• 58:45
  Speaker 3: So how do you befriend letting go of that desire
• 58:48
  Speaker 3: for perfection.
• 58:50
  Speaker 2: It takes some repetition and some awareness.
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: I remember some somebody had given me that advice. They
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: were like, you just got to let some things go,
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: you know, go through your email, pick the five you're
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: going to respond to, and those other forty people they
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: can wait because it's they don't need an urgent response, right.
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: So I would never have done that. Prior me, I
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: would have been up at night making sure I responded
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: to everybody every day, right, So I think living through that,
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: trying it a few times and realizing it really is okay,
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: you know, gives you that confidence to then kind of
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: keep going.
• 59:26
  Speaker 4: You don't know until you try and keep trying. Really
• 59:29
  Speaker 4: the themes of our chat today, Erin.
• 59:31
  Speaker 3: I'm so happy that we were able to find the
• 59:33
  Speaker 3: time to do this together. For those that want to
• 59:36
  Speaker 3: keep up with you, or perhaps keep up with Puma,
• 59:39
  Speaker 3: tell us where they can do that on the internet.
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely check out at Puma Running to see everything
• 59:45
  Speaker 1: that we're doing. We have a lot of excitement coming
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: this year. Also, we have at Puma Training if you
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: want to see what we're getting into on the training side.
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: Of course, are at Puma main handle for the brand.
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: You can find me on LinkedIn as well.
• 59:59
  Speaker 2: So I love it.
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 3: I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 3: another Hurdle Conquered.
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 4: Catch you guys next time.