This week, I’m sitting down with Seema Simmons, the General Manager of Running for North America at Nike. Seema’s path to the this role, 25 years in at Nike, has been anything but straight. She shares her journey from playing team sports and loving group fitness to pivoting away from an engineering major in college, and ultimately finding her dream role in Oregon.
In this inspiring and candid conversation, Seema discusses how her background in team sports shaped her unique leadership style, the lessons she learned from trusting her instincts (even when it was scary), and how she juggles a demanding career while prioritizing her role as a mother. Plus, she opens up about the challenge of being a quiet leader in a loud room, the power of embracing vulnerability, and Nike's commitment to making running more inclusive for women.
IN THIS EPISODE
- The unexpected journey from studying engineering to becoming a GM at Nike, and the hard conversation with her parents that led to a major pivot.
- The handwritten note from her mom that gave her the courage to trust her own intuition and pursue a different path.
- How her background in team sports shaped her leadership style, emphasizing hard work, teamwork, and knowing your role.
- Moving from a finance role into product development and the lesson of empowering your team by letting go of the need to be the "expert" in the room.
- Finding balance between a busy career and motherhood, and the "loud" message of women sacrificing family for work.
- The importance of being an authentic, quiet leader in a corporate environment and balancing that with stepping into your power.
- Nike’s approach to making running more inclusive and less intimidating, especially for women, and thinking "big" with audacious goals.
- Why passion and building a strong family-like culture is key to a long career in the sports industry.
QUOTABLE MOMENTS
Self-Worth and Authenticity
"We have to remind ourselves that we're worthy, we're good, we don't have to keep proving ourselves."
"I think it's about combining your authentic self with understanding how you need to show up in those environments."
"I want people to remember is, 'Wow, she made an amazing point.' I want the words that I share to have that impact versus 'she talked the whole time.'"
Career, Strategy, and Trusting Your Path
"Trust your gut and go with it, and then have fun with that journey, honestly."
"You get out what you put in, and you learn that really quickly in sports."
"The job of a leader is really empowering your team... and driving the strategy [versus] being in the weeds and the details."
Family and Balance
"At the end of the day, my priority is to be a mom."
"I think that just kind of hopefully will be something that they take away with them, [that] they know that my girls actually recognize that as they were growing up."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I think we have to remind ourselves that we're worthy,
we're good. We don't have to keep proving. We have
to appreciate who we are and to make sure that
we bring our voices to the tables and whatever we're
doing to drive that.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hey everyone, Emily here, you're listening to another episode of Hurdle,
a podcast featuring the mindset, secrets, and true stories of
the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, empowering you
to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life and of course,
conquer your own hurdles. This week, I'm sitting down with
Sema Simmons. She's a general manager of Running for North
(00:50):
America at Nike, and we were able to chat live
when I was down in San Antonio last week for
the Running event. Sema shares her journey today from being
a young athlete who loved team sports and group fitness
to becoming a powerful leader at one of the world's
most recognizable brands. In this episode, Seema gets candid about
the unexpected turns in her career path, from pivoting away
(01:13):
from engineering in college to navigating her first role in
finance and Nike. She shares how her background a team
Sports laid the foundation for her leadership style, emphasizing the
importance of diverse teamwork, hard work, and letting go of
the need to be the expert in the room. We
also discuss how she balanced her demanding career while becoming
(01:33):
a mother, the power of vulnerability in leadership, and how
Nike is working to make running more inclusive and less intimidating,
especially for women. Seema even offers a touching anecdote about
the handwritten note from her mom that gave her the
courage to trust her gut. This combos fact with actionable
insights on career evolution, finding balance, and the courage it
(01:56):
takes to pursue your own version of success. Make sure
you are following on with Hurdle So we're at Hurdle podcast.
You can also check out iHeart Women's Sports. Over at
iHeart Women's Sports and me over at Emily a Body.
Listen to Hurdle with Emily a Body on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
And with that, let's get to it. Let's get it's
a hurdling today.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I'm sitting down with Sema Simmons. She is the GM
of running for North America at Nike SEMA.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Welcome to hurdle. How are we?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I'm good. Thank you for having me, Emily. I am
so excited to be here with you. We are in
San Antonio. This is the highlight of my trip to
San Antonio. My highlight too. I've never done a podcast before. Wow,
how does that make you feel?
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Well?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I am a quiet and private person, so kind of
freaks me out. But with you, I'm excited to be here.
She has to say that. She totally has to say that,
never done a podcast before. Do you listen into podcasts?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
I do?
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Okay, do you have any favorites? Well, I listened to
I was listening to a few of yours.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
You don't feel.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Know.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
I love the way that.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
You bring the storytelling to life, especially around women in sport,
because you know that is what I'm passionate about. So yeah,
I love listening to you. But other podcasts suggestions Brenane Brown,
Oh yeah, just you know her advice. I always use
the clearest kind. Oh we love clearers kind.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yes, I know. I'm a Brene fan as well.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
The good thing about podcasts when you're someone that's as
busy as you is that it enables you to learn
and like do things as you're doing other things, which
means and what I'm getting to is, you're probably a
pretty busy person, Sema.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Would you agree?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I agree, yes, Yeah. The days are busy. They can
be long sometimes too. When someone hears that you're the
GM of Running for North America and Nike, give me
like a summation of what that means. Okay, So the
easiest way to understand it is, I'm in charge of
bringing to life all things running in North America and
that means powering up a cross functional team. So think
(04:12):
about merchandizing, brand, sales, finance, all of the functions that
touch how we bring product to life and the experiences
to life for our consumers. So the goal is to
serve runners, and that is what my job is. And
that's really fun to think about. How do we serve runners,
especially right now with the running boom that's going on
(04:33):
around the world.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah, the running boom. I feel like everyone's talking. This week.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
We're in San Antonio for a large conference which is
called the Running Event. So naturally a lot of people
that are here are talking about.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Said running boom.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
What happens when you're in a job and something like
that happens. I mean, does it change or has it
changed to the way that you think and do your
role regularly.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
No, what's fun is that my time at Nike would've
noticed is we are here to serve athletes and we
just keep them at the center of what we do,
so regardless of what's happening in the world, that's job
number one. What's fun is with the running boom, there's
more people out there signing up for races or going
out and running with a run crew and a club.
So there's just more excitement and talk about the sport
(05:22):
that we are loving and serving every day. So I
don't think it's changed the work, but it just brings
actually more highlights and presents around the work. I think
elevates the importance of it and it gets more eyes on it.
But it's exciting to see, and especially I think in
the women's space.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Now, I know you yourself ran Nike's after Dark Tour
earlier this year, but have you always been an active person?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Has running always been a part of your routine? That's
a great question.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I don't even know if I would call myself a runner,
you know, what's really funny is I think, and I
think more women are like this too, even if they run,
they're like, I'm not a runner. I grew up playing
team sports, so I played soccer in basketball when I
was younger, and then I think I transitioned to group fitness.
So I grew up in the eighties, I was doing
aerobics with my mom, Steph aerobics. You know, loved like
(06:14):
group fitness classes and took that into college. Was always
signed up for group fitness classes as part of my schedule.
And so, yeah, being a fit and well has been
an important part of my life. And I think it's
fun right now because I have twin daughters that are
teenagers and they've gotten into running in high school and
they love running. And that's what inspired me to sign
(06:37):
up for the after Dark Tour race. I ran out
with them. I mean, they were much further ahead of
me in that race. I wouldn't say we were running together,
but we were all part of that race, yeah together,
and to have that moment together was really fun. So,
you know, it's part of my life and part of
my fitness routine.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
It's cool that you had an active lifestyle modeled for
you by your mother, and then you brought that into
your parenting style.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
It's very clear.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
For me as I hear that that like what an
opportunity it is to instill that value into your own
family and use it in that way.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
To pivot back to your team sports background. Growing up
probably a huge component and learning for you on community
teamwork and integrating those lessons into what you do today.
(07:40):
Do you feel as though your background playing team sports
has informed a little bit of how you lead?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Definitely, yeah. I think team sports are a great, great
way to learn about teamwork right, and everyone has their roles,
especially in basketball, which was my favorite sport to play.
I was the forward, so you knew like what the
point guard needed to do, the center, the forward. We
all had our roles, and I think I keep that
in mind today when I'm with the team, especially my role.
As I explain as a GM, I'm working with a
(08:07):
cross functional team. Nobody actually reports directly to me. It's
all indirect and pulling together a group of people with
diverse backgrounds and really need to understand the role that
each person plays to bring to life that power to
do our goals and bring our vision to life right
of serving runners, so that teamwork aspect was really important.
(08:28):
And then also I think hard work, right, so you
get out what you put in, and you learn that
really quickly. In sports, my dad had put a basketball
hoop up above our garage door, and when I was little,
I just loved being out there and shooting, and so
I got really good at my free throw. So I
was new if I got fouled and I needed to
shoot some free throws, I would make those free throws.
And that is because of the time and the effort
(08:49):
that you put in, and that's something that you bring
into your life right of like anything that you're doing,
and especially of course in my career and in my
work that I do, it's the hard work, the time
that you put in that drives the results and what
you want to get out of it. So interesting to
think about, Okay, if I'm doing something and I might
not be excelling as I would, hope I have this
(09:10):
other skill set that I can fall back on. You
knowing that the free throw was something that you were
good at, and then such an applicable takeaway, like you said,
for career and for life. Speaking of career, you did
not go to college to become the GM of running.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
I did not. I actually never thought that would be
something that I would do. Yeah, let's talk a little
bit about that. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
When I went to school, actually I started studying engineering
because I grew up in a traditional Indian family, and
you know, the two options for me was doctor, engineer.
My dad was an engineer, and I thought that is
a practical option for me. A few terms into it
my freshman year, I figured out quickly, I'm like, this
is not the right fit for me. So I switched
(09:54):
over to business. Called my parents. Remember my mom cried,
She's like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Are you sure? We don't?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know? It just wasn't a space that was familiar
in our family. And I said, I think this is
what I want to do. And so it was a
good lesson of trusting your gut and trying to figure out, like,
what's the right fit for you. But went into business,
studied accounting. When I graduated, I started at Deloitte, so
worked as an auditor. I did that for two years
and it was fun. But you know who looks forward
(10:22):
to seeing an auditor? No one. I'm like, I'm not
going to be the person that tells you that, but yeah,
I will tell you that from my experience, and I
wanted to feel like I was part of a team
and valued and people looked forward to seeing seeing me.
I grew up in the Portland area, so when there
was an opening at Nike and finance, that was the
(10:43):
perfect place to apply and get my feet in the door.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And that was in two thousands.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
So I've been at Nike for twenty five years and
I've worked in many different roles. Honestly, I had the
opportunity to work in finance for a few years and
then move into planning and merchant. I spent a long
time in footwear. Product was really fun, so talk about
being close to the athlete and listening to the voice
of the consumer. That was really fun to listen to
(11:11):
what they need and bring that to life in product,
and then had the opportunity to move into a GM role.
So it just it was never a path that I
would have actually anticipated or thought of because it was
so so diverse and so different from what I had studied.
There's so much to double click on here. The first
thing I want to go to is this understanding or
(11:33):
feeling or inkling that you had that I want to
do something different. Was that a really scary conversation to
have with your parents?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
It was very scary. Yeah, talk to me about that.
So I'm the.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Oldest of three kids, also the oldest grandchild on my
dad's side of the family, and so my parents moved
to the US to come to college right and to
start a new life for a family. So I always
felt like there was that expectation and pressure on me
of like, what I do is making my family proud.
And I'm very close to my family, and that was
(12:06):
definitely something that drove me as a kid, and so
I wanted to make them happy. I thought being an
engineer would make them happy. And when I figured out
that that is actually not what I want to do,
I felt like I was going to disappoint them.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
And it was a hard conversation.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Because it was when I offered a pay I think
I'm going to move into business. That was just an
unknown space in my family, and nobody knew what that meant. So,
you know, I think it was just a space that
my parents had to feel they get used to and
feel okay with letting me explore and realize that that
is something that's good for me, but maybe just not
(12:41):
something that might have been in their plans.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Did you feel as though you had pushback when you
garnered up the courage to tell them what you were
feeling in your heart.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yes you did. Yeah, okay, I had a little pushback.
But then I remember having that initial conversation. It was uncomfortable.
My grandma called me next day. You know, it's a
close knit family and so much expectation, and I think
because of the love you know that they have, they
want what's best for you. But I think in that
(13:10):
space I had to figure out what was best for
me based on my feelings and not their experiences. But
then a week into it, I got a card from
my mom in the mail at college, handwritten note just
saying she loved me. She was so proud of me,
and she knows that whatever I do, that I'm going
to be great at it, because that was her one
thing when I was growing up, The thing that she
(13:32):
would always tell all of us kids is that she
wanted us to work hard in life because she wanted
us to be able to be independent and to support ourselves.
And so she came around and kind of just reinforced
that message for me. And just knowing that she said,
you know, she loved me, and she was proud of me,
and she was supportive.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
That meant the world. It took a lot of courage
to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
And then what happened when you did that was that
you were in alignment. And when we're in alignment, there
are going to be scary things that happen, but ultimately
what's meant to be is going to be. And so
to have this moment where you felt then so seen
by your mom with that handwritten note that reminded you, Okay,
(14:14):
moving forward, I'm going to continue to trust my gut,
which is a scary thing to do. It is, Yeah,
it is a scary thing. It also was a good
lesson of like, you can't just plan out everything right
because when I was little, it's like, Okay, I'm going
to go to school, I'm going to be an engineer,
I'm going to get married. By this age, it's like,
(14:34):
not everything goes to plan. Even having the girls took
longer than I'd expect, didn't go to plan.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
My career didn't start as a GM.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
I was in finance, you know, and moved into so
many different roles. So I think it's like, trust your
gut and go with it and then have fun with
that journey.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Honestly, so important.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
So you apply to this finance role at Nike, so
different than being an auditor. Yes, probably that went hand
in hand with that as well. So yeah, yeah, so much.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Do you remember where you were when you found out
you got the job? I think yes, I was. I
was in a meeting at my role at Deloitte and
had gotten an email asking me to call the person
that interviewed me. So I excused myself and made the
quick call, and you know, you want to scream it
obviously at work, so I had to kind of contain
the excitement, and when I got home had the celebration
(15:25):
with my family.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
So I was very excited about that shift.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
My gosh, and also I really appreciated the light that
you shed on what in intricate journey it's been to
get to this point. Oftentimes I believe that we do feel,
as you talked about before, like I should be doing
this or I should be doing that. There was no
path that you were following at Nike. So when you
(15:51):
made that first step beyond a finance role, talk to
me about the thought process that went with that and
perhaps what you had to you to trust your gut again.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I was in finance for five years, so I'd started
as the financial analyst, and then within five years I
was a senior manager of the team, and I through
my role, I got to support a lot of different
leaders and one of the leaders had reached out from
planning and said, had you ever have you ever considered
a role in this group? And I had not because
(16:22):
it'd worked so hard to move up on my team
and I was comfortable right. I knew what I was doing,
knew how to drive the business there. But then it
sparked an interest because it was a little bit closer
to product, a little closer to serving the consumer, and
I thought, Okay, what would that feel like and be like?
And I had to talk myself into being okay of
not being the expert. I remember my first few meetings
(16:43):
when I had gotten the role to move into that
I had no idea what people were talking about. So
many different acronyms thrown out in the meetings and deadlines.
I have no idea what this even means. And I
had to go and ask my team because I had
a team that I was leading, they were the experts.
That was my first lesson actually for that I take
really seriously as a leader of empowering my team. They
(17:06):
were the experts and had learned how to what role
that a leader plays is really empowering your team and
being a little bit at a higher level, right and driving
the strategy, finding the resources for your team versus being
in the weeds and the details. Honestly, I think they
probably enjoyed that, and then it was a good way
to learn as a leader, like this is the way
(17:26):
I should operate because in finance I probably asked maybe
some more of those details because I was in all
of the roles and had moved through it. But it
was scary, and as I've moved into different functions, I
think I remember a leader telling me, as you move
into different roles, just remember what you're good at. You
kind of keep one foot on the ground, right, and
it's okay if that other one is a little shaky
(17:48):
or unstable, because at least you've got some susstability in life,
and then the rest of it you're going to learn
along the way.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
That was fun. You were shooting free throws with one
foot right.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
You talked about also working on product, and I think
that is such an interesting thing, especially because it just
to me when I think about, like, Okay, I'm wearing
socks right now, but if I was wearing sneakers, the
sneaker is on my foot. There are so many things
that have to happen for that sneaker to end up on.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
My foot and the process.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It's not like, again, you stepped into this role and
you understood how that worked. Talk to me a little
bit about what it's like to work on product at Mike.
You what product you were working on and I'm sure
that evolved over time, and what you learned about.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
That creative process.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I loved working on product because you have something tangible
that you're creating, right and especially when you're finished with
creating that product and it to the consumer or the athlete,
to see the reaction that people have on when you
take the shoe out of the bag and surprise them
with new innovation, colors, whatever. People get very emotional right
on the product and they love it. I learned a
(19:12):
lot when I started working on product. First of just
how do you listen to true insights from consumers. So
there's lots of expertise, there's lots of passion around product creation,
and we have a lot of athletes on the product team.
So right now I work on the running team. There
are a lot of runners that work on our footwear product.
They know what people need, all of the technical aspects,
(19:34):
which is fun to geek out on, but then also
just how you make it beautiful, look good, feel good,
right like all of those elements that are so important
in product. But it was fun to kind of be
part of that journey and understand what does it take
from innovation to design all the way to manufacturing, so
all of those nuances. Like you said, you don't realize
(19:54):
how complicated it is to make product. When I went
to a factory for the first time, it was crazy
to see how big our factories are and all the
different steps that it takes to make a shoe, and
then to think how many pairs of shoes are created
every year. So it's a complicated process, but it is
really fun and so fulfilling. Like I said, when you
kind of create something that runners athletes love.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
At the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
And you're talking about the feedback loop, can you give
some insight on how that works, because I think that's
actually just such an interesting part of the process. Yeah,
you know, you start the process with a brief for
a shoe, and that is embedded with so many insights
around athletes. Whether it's a new creation, new innovation that
you're creating, or an update to a shoe like the Pegasus.
(20:42):
The team will sit down and look at like, what
are some of those insights that we want to kick
the process off with, and then as we design and
build the shoe, we have samples that we test with
all of our athletes. One of the things that we've
done is really in running over index with women in
our testing, as we have found that women give great feedback,
(21:03):
so crazy tangible feedback that's actionable, but it actually makes
the product better for him and her. So there's a
lot of feedback and insights that go in even as
we're creating that product. We take that feedback as they're
testing the footwear and the apparel and embed it into
how we fine tune that product before it's finalized. So
there's a lot of feedback loop throughout the process before
(21:26):
everything comes to fruition. And so you have Nike athletes
as a part of this process. But then you also
work with specific wear testers. Yes, can you shed some
light on that how that works? How does if I'm
listening to this and I'm like, well, I want to
be a wear tester? How does someone become a wear tester?
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Yeah? Our product team, our product testing team is always
looking for wear testers. They're looking they're building the network
of people that are of the sport. So if for running,
we're looking for people that put in certain mileage each
week and that are good at giving the feedback too.
It's not just about wearing the product.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
You don't just get to tests as issues and not
only to do the work. It's not just about getting
the fresh new product. It's also about how can you
give meaningful feedback to make that product better? Because that
is the whole point. We want people to wear the
product and then give us the insights to make it better.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Meaningful feedback something that I'm sure you got as you
evolved through the different roles to get to where you
are now. Do you recall some of what maybe in
the moment, felt like to be some very difficult feedback
that then empowered you to be better and continue to
(22:42):
grow on your journey throughout Nike.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yeah, it's a great question. I think, like I said,
my personality is quiet, and some of the feedback that
I would get initially in my career is you're too
quiet and you have a different leadership style than we
have at Nike. And you know, that really made me
pause and think about how am make in advance in
(23:07):
my career if I'm viewed a certain way that is
not the norm of the way maybe leaders show up
at the workplace. And I had to find a balance
of being authentic to myself and keeping my personality, you know,
coming through, but then also making sure that I elevate
my voice in those spaces and let people know that
(23:28):
I have a point of view and a direction that
I want to drive. So I had tried early on,
like how do I be more outgoing and extrovert. It
doesn't feel natural, it doesn't feel authentic, And I honestly
feel like if you want to lead a team and
have people connect with you, you do have to be
authentic to yourself. I'm a quiet person, but in the
forums where I need to lead a team or explain
(23:50):
something to senior leadership, I need to make sure that
my voice is cutting through. So I think it's about
combining your authentic self with understand standing how you need
to show up in those environments and make sure that
the work gets done and that you stand up for
yourself in that you can be soft but firm, kind
(24:11):
but firm, and that as I get older, is I
agree with you something that is so much quote unquote
louder and special than screaming into the void just because
you feel like you're supposed to be screaming.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
I agree, Yeah, don't think.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I never feel like I have to be the one
that does the most talking in a meeting. What I
want people to remember is, wow, she made an amazing point.
I want the words that I share to have that
impact versus she talked the whole time. And also that
you listened. I think that's also a really important quality
(24:49):
of a leader, is that you listen, because that's how
you learn what the team needs or what the consumer needs.
And I feel like, if you're spending your time talking
the whole time, some things that are really important to
listen to.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
This is really inspirational for me thinking about you as
you've evolved within your time at Nike. This is simultaneously
happening as you are building a family, right and both
of those things certainly have their own challenges. You spoke
before about that process taking perhaps longer than you had anticipated.
(25:24):
How did you navigate the emotional side of that while
trying to level up also within your career, because it's
lots of balance.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
It's a lot to balance. Honestly, I think I kept
a lot of it in, yeah, and very private. That
was hard because there's so much going on in my
personal life, and then you try to show up at
work and do your best, your supportive to your team
and giving energy to your team. It was hard for
me to go through all of that. What I learned
from that is knowing you don't know what's going on
(25:57):
in someone's life, so as a leader, to be empathetic,
to be in tune to check in. Because I don't
think that I had that in my journey. Necessarily it
was on me. I was keeping it quiet and so private,
and so I think about that today as I'm leading
teams of how do I just make sure that I'm
there for my team, create an environment where people can share.
(26:18):
I have learned the importance of sharing those things and
being more vulnerable because I think if you show that
human side of yourself, people can connect to you as well.
I wouldn't have done that earlier on in my career
of like, hey, these things are things that I'm trying
to work on or trying to achieve, because I was
almost like trying to be a perfect you know, and
(26:40):
show up in a certain way. I think I've shifted
that of like now I'm very open with like, hey,
this is something that I'm trying that I'm not really
good at.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Running is a great example. When I was running.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
I'm not the fastest runner, but I'm out there and
I'm trying and I'm having fun.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
And that goes back to again this model behavior, like
you showing up and being this vulnerable leader gives others
permission then to say, Okay, I also don't have it
all together. How often are we pretending that we have
it all together? I know, yes, I don't know why
we feel the pressure to do to do that. The
other thing too, that you know that journey taught me
(27:17):
is when I did have my girls, it made me
appreciate being a mom so much more for all that
I did, and then also appreciated my mom.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
So much more but it helped me with the balance.
To your point in question of you know, how do
you balance that busy schedule. I am very driven at work,
I also love being a mom. At the end of
the day, my priority is to be a mom, so
I will get my meetings and my work done, but
(27:47):
I'm there for the soccer game or their track meet,
you know. And I also find that that is important
to make sure that you showcase that to your teams,
so other people with other priorities, whether it's kids or
whatever is going on in their life, they know that
there is balance and that's important.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
You had to have missed something that made you understand that.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I think I saw other women around me sacrificing the
time with family.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Yeah, and it was like really loud for you to
see loud for me.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
And before I had the girls, I had a loss
that made me realize like, if I'm going and if
I'm working this hard to be a mom, there's nothing
that's going to come that's more important than this for me. Yeah,
I think it was my journey of getting to that
point that made me realize, like, there's nothing that's going
to be more important than showing up for my kids.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Yeah, we're doing this daily journaling challenge for the community
of listeners throughout December, reflecting on the year. And the
prompt that was for day four was just articulate two
hurdles that you've overcome this year. And what I find
to be so interesting is that often when we are
going through these difficult moments, we may not even give
(28:58):
ourselves enough credit for the tenacity and the diligence that
it requires to come out on the other side and
keep going. And you're speaking of quite a difficult, large
hurdle perhaps, but there are small things that were overcoming
each and every day that we don't give ourselves credit for.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
And so when you go through a moment like that
where you do.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Learn I am resilient, you are reminded that you can
push through difficult moments. It then empowers and enables you
to show up for the smaller ones along the way,
as you were then stepping into your power as a
mom while building and pivoting continuously at Nike. How does
(29:43):
one show up for herself Because I know there's not
a lot of time for that.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
It feels that though as though there's not a lot
of time for that, there isn't. Yeah, that's such a
great point, Emily. I think that's the one thing that
I think I sacrificed early on, is you just put
so much right, put so much into your family, so
much into your career, and then you kind of almost
burn out and you realize, I need to actually give
myself some time too. And then that's where I would
(30:12):
make sure that I made time to work out or
do something that was my time for myself. That was
my favorite time for myself. Go for a walk with
the dog, go to the gym, get a fitness class in,
you know, go for a quick run, and then needed
let me time. It was minimal, but you need to
make that time because remember someone telling me, like, if
(30:33):
you don't take care of yourself, how are you going
to take care of others?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Right?
Speaker 1 (30:37):
And I always want to take care of others. I
think that was the example that my mom set. I
love that she's there for everyone, and I think that's
what I modeled and I saw that in her and
I wanted to be that. But there's only so much
you can do for everyone else. If you're burnt out
and you can't take care of yourself, Yeah, how have
you helped your girls understand that. I don't think I've
(31:00):
ever actually said anything to them, but what I think it's,
you know, show leading by example, right, showing them that
they see the work that I put in for my career.
They also see that mom shows up for me at
a school event or anything that they need. So when
they moved to college, which was also just another big
(31:20):
shift this year that we went through, they they had
written me a card as they were moving and what
they told me, which meant so much to me because
you just don't talk about it every day and you
don't assume that your kids see you in this light.
But they're like, Mom, you're a badass at work, but
we appreciate like how much you showed up for me
every day, and you know, you don't get thank yous
(31:42):
from teenagers at all. Yeah, So that meant the world
to me to just know that my girls actually recognize
that as they were growing up, and I think that
just kind of hopefully will be something that they take
away with them to how they Yeah, Yeah, it meant
It really did mean the world to me. And what
a full circle moment because you talked about the note
(32:06):
that your mom wrote you and she said, I see you.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I see that this is important to you. I will
support you no matter what you're doing. This is a
testament to the young woman that you raised. You're getting
a lot, You're getting a lot of great notes. I
hope that you're writing some notes. And do you write
some notes? I love you know.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
And in an era where we text and do so
much digitally, my favorite is to get a card. I
still like, the only thing I want on my birthday
is a handwritten card.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Yeah, handwritten notes.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And as I get older, I understand the value of
curating and creating and gifting experiences in time over anything
material like a new PEG premium respectfully, is very nice
thing to give. However, I would much rather like go
to a cooking class with my dad. Yeah, yeah, something
(33:03):
like that. Yeah, you don't get back the time. And
I'm sure that that's a really big lesson that you've
learned as you have gone through raising your daughters, and
you do so much travel for your job.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Let's talk a little bit.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Let's go back to the job side of things and
talk a little bit about this era that you're in
now as the GM of running up North America. You said,
working cross functionally and with all these different people. But
from like a snapshot, if you have to talk about
a day, you're like, this is cute. I just think
that people still are trying to understand what it would
(33:38):
look like.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Yeah, what does a GM do? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:41):
I know people ask me that all the time because
they'll have that on their career plan. I want to
be a GM ow what does that mean?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I don't even know.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
I think as they see, like, hey, that's the person
that leads the business.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
I get to lead running.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
I mean that is pretty cool at Nike, you know,
that was the heart of our brand, right and where
it's I feel proud every day to be able to
work on the sport that created our brand.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
But what that looks like every day? I mean there's
a lot of meetings and I sit in a lot
of meetings. I do a lot of presentations, which is funny,
you know, to think about as someone that does not
like presenting and talking in front of people. I spend
a lot of my time and the presenting is like
sharing our plans, sharing the vision. My job is to
make sure the vision of where we are going in
Nike Running is clear, and so we're constantly sharing that
(34:30):
we're problem solving, you know, where there's things we're trying
to deliver a season and bring things to life, like
for example, we just got through marathon season, right, it's
my team that brings those experiences to life for the
consumers in the cities.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Can we get really granular? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Okay, so it's my team that brings us experiences to life.
So what's on a deck for an experience? Like, give
me an example of New York City Marathon?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah? Are you making a deck on New York City Marathon? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:58):
My team makes a deck and you know it's around
Like how does the brand show up around the city.
So I'm sure anyone that has seen a major marathon
recently has seen those cheeky lines on the billboards. You
know that Nike brings to life. That's in a deck?
Speaker 3 (35:13):
Was the boat? Was the ferry and the deck? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
So if you're listening to this and you're not familiar this,
they wrapped the Staten Island ferry in a Nike ad
and it was it was epic, But it's like who
comes up with the ferry? Like, I just my mind
is blown to think. Like someone one day was like,
you know what we should do. We should wrap the
Staaten Island ferry in an.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
That's the fun part of the job, right, and how
that comes to life is thinking about the consumer journey
of like, oh, those runners have to be on the ferry, right,
and they're going to see that tagline, you know, like
making sure that we're in front of the runners and
meeting them where they're at. That is all like the
premise of the things that will show up in the
deck y, you know, whether it's you know, wrapping the
(35:59):
faery or the shakeout run that we're partnering with many
run clubs in the city to bring over fifteen hundred
people showed up for the shakeout run the day before
the race, So all of those experiences how we bring
energy along the race course. Those are really fun things
to work through.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
And I'm also sensing this through line of I'm going
to think really big yes that I like get excited
about that because someone says to me, if you had
to think about like you're like, what's your dream thing
that you want to do in twenty twenty six or
what do you want to do at LA twenty eight, Right,
(36:37):
it's really empowering to think of being in a situation
where you feel comfortable enough to say, I'm going to
have the audacity to throw out what some might think
to be is a crazy idea, and I'm surrounded by
people that aren't going to be like, you're absolutely ludicrous.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yes, yeah, I think that that is the energy that
we feed off of.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Honestly, we want to do something that is bold, that's
distinct Nike only. I think our brand is known for
doing things that maybe others wouldn't even breaking for. Was
you know a great example of that breaking too, like
going after things that people might say that's impossible. Yeah,
you know, that's actually what gets us fired up. It's like,
(37:19):
well then let's go after it and make it possible.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
I love that vibe.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
And also, do you feel like you get flack And
I guess, like I'm not saying Sema, but I'm saying Nike.
It's very signature to Nike to be like, we're going
to do these crazy things. And I think that like
if you go on Instagram and you're scrolling through reels
like people are making fun, like there's a vibe, there's
a Nike vibe.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
It's like I'm the biggest, the baddest in the room.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
I'm here to make my presence known, and I believe
that that can be perceived in a couple of different ways.
It can be perceived as we have this ego, et cetera,
and it can just be HI, I'm here and I'm
standing in my power, and I'm going to be the
person that makes the loudest noise, something that's counterintuitive sometimes
to who you are as someone who doesn't want to
always be the loudest in the room.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
Yeah, your brand wants to be the loudest in the room.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
The brand wants to be the loudest in the room.
But you know, we're a big brand and we're aware
of the impact that we can make. I think that's
why we go after those audacious goals because we can
and we should. And it starts with the athlete. The
athletes are the ones that have those audacious goals. It
was Faith that wants to go after breaking the four
(38:27):
minute mile barrier, and we're there to help her as
a brand power that up. I also think, though, you
balance it with how you show up for consumers every day.
You know, that's the shakeout run, that's the guidance that
we can provide through our training plans for the consumers
that have the goal of running their first marathon or
a faster time. So I think it's that balance of
(38:49):
things that we do at scale, which people might say like, Okay,
that's Nike doing their Nike thing. Yeah, and we will
always do that. It's also the intimate moments that we
think about to hopefully create more of those human connects
and make people feel a part of the community, not
necessarily like, hey, this is Nike doing something. I want
(39:23):
to talk about the future of running as Nike sees it.
This year, you as a brand really came forward and
invested in women with the after Dark series, making a
really big push to target her within the you know,
confines of whatever you're allowed to tell me.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
Is that something that we will continue to see going forward.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Yes, you will see a continued focus on serving women
and running. It's something very close to my heart. It's
something that a lot of people are very passionate about
at Nike. And again it goes back to serving re
women are signing up for more races. She is out
there running with us, and we will continue to think
about ways to serve her across product and experiences. And
(40:11):
I'm so excited. I had some of the ideas there
we're cooking out.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
I'm like, I feel like I also know things that
we're not talking about right now, but I'm just reeling
it in respectfully, speaking of after Dark, how does brand
gauge success with something like that, Like, yes, selling out
is exciting, Yes the pr is exciting, But what's like
the success metric?
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Like, did Nike see this as a massive success? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (40:36):
I think we saw it as a massive success because
we heard from women that they wanted to come back
and race with us again. And I think that's what
we want. We want to get women to the starting
line and across the finish line and then come back
again and run with us. And just having that positive
sentiment that she enjoyed the experience and felt the power
of the collective meant more to us than you know
(40:59):
the number people that are there. But just let's bring
her back and have her run with us and bring
some friends next year, bring some friends. Yeah, what are
you thinking about for the next year?
Speaker 3 (41:11):
Dude? So I did.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
I ran all of the world major marathons and finished
them two years ago.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
It's amazing, loved it.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
Congratulations you I do have Sydney on my vision board.
I think in twenty six I've never been to Australia,
I know, and it's a big trip.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
Have you been to Australia?
Speaker 1 (41:31):
I have, Okay, Yeah, I went for a work event Setney.
Oh it's amazing.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
And so I'm sure if you went for a work event,
you weren't there for as long as you wish that
you could be. So my thought process is that I'll
probably run the Sydney Marathon this year and I'm aiming
to be in that part of the world for give her.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Take around ten days. I feel like you have to
be there for that long.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think it would be great to experience
that and we'll be cheering you on.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Oh, you'll be cheering me on, I know. Speaking of
goal setting.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
GM, of running for North America, what's on your vision
board moving forward for your career?
Speaker 1 (42:08):
I actually feel like right now I'm in my dream job.
I love my job. I love you so passionate about running.
I've got a great team, and I like the GM
role because it is bringing people together and leveraging their expertise.
But I wouldn't be mad at going back to product someday.
So you know, I think the GM space, our product
(42:28):
role are areas that I'm super passionate about, So I
am open to that. And honestly, since I never knew
like what was the next thing that was coming, I'm
open to what are other areas that I could learn
and grow?
Speaker 3 (42:42):
But right now I am thankful for being in running.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Yeah, it's so cool to hear that you've been so
open to learning this entire time.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
You've been so open to feedback this entire time.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
When someone hears from you, myself included, they're inspired, I'm
sure by your journey. If you had to offer advice
to someone that is aspiring to this level of leadership,
that is aspiring to getting to a place where maybe
they hold their dream job, what do.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
You have to offer them?
Speaker 1 (43:12):
Yeah, I would say, be curious and then enjoy the journey.
So don't be about, hey, I want to be in
this role in ten years. Specifically, it's great to have
a vision, but it may not always go kind of
exactly as planned. I would have never mapped out my
career the way it was, and so I think it
was okay with just moving in different areas. Sometimes those
(43:34):
roles are not always like hey, each one is a promotion.
You know, sometimes you have to take those lateral moves
to learn something new and a new area that then
sets you up for the next big one. But I
think just take each step as a way to learn
something new, build that network, and have fun with it.
People ask me why I've been at Nike for twenty
five years. It is because I've had the opportunity to
(43:56):
do so many different things and work in so many areas,
and it's the people that keep me there.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Well, that was what I was going to ask you,
is that I it's interesting about the sneaker industry because
I do feel like you see this a lot. You
see folks that have been at brands, whether it be
ni He or a competitor, and they've been there for ten, fifteen,
twenty twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
Yeah, why do you think of that as I think
there's so.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
Much passion in that space, and you know, you build
a lot into a brand and you want to see
your vision come to life. So I think that keeps
people in a space where you're working towards those bigger
goals and it feels like, you know, you build a
family at work too. You're close to your teammates. It's
a competitive environment, but there's so much passion around what
(44:42):
everyone is doing, and then that builds such a fun
culture that I think keeps people there.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
I obviously have a very different job, but I get
to see what it is that you do, and it's
so funny because there are so many aspects of our
job that are quite fun and outside of the box.
Like you're talking about traveling to run with your daughters, yeah,
and like that's kind of part of the job, right,
(45:09):
And for me, I'll have friends that are like.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
How's kindergarten today?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
And like, just because I'm not today sitting with an
Excel spreadsheet does not mean that there aren't moments when
I am like literally like where's the money coming from?
Speaker 3 (45:22):
I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
But to your point, I do think that a reason
that people stay around this climate for so long is
because there is a lot of joy and almost at
times opportunity to play. And that is something that can
be so lost in the working environment. Is like the
beauty of playing and the beauty of taking risks and
(45:47):
doing new things.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Yeah, it gives you that space to imagine. Yeah, I
mean that is fun, right, It's not. Every day is
almost different, you know, going back to your question around like,
what does a GM do?
Speaker 3 (45:57):
I feel like every day is pretty differ.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
You've got different problems to solve, different dreams to think about.
It's fun to have that creative space. And today your
first podcast, my first podcast, how did I do em?
Speaker 3 (46:11):
Yeah? Theesema, You've done so well before I let you go.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
Today, someone maybe for your role, I would say, maybe
someone comes to your LinkedIn and they see you as
this GM of running. But when you look in the mirror, Seema,
what is it that you see looking back at you?
I see someone that has put in the effort and
that has worked hard to make my mom proud, to
(46:36):
make my daughters proud. And so that's who I see
in the mirror, and that's what I keep in my
mind as I show up every day. Yeah, and what
an important reminder again when you said earlier you were like,
I realized very quickly that my number one priority was
being a mom. To look in the mirror and see
(46:56):
someone that makes yourself proud. Sell worth is how you
feel about yourself when you're by yourself, and you're never
going to get that from how you show up necessarily
in one specific meeting.
Speaker 3 (47:09):
Right, it's that.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
Opportunity to look in the mirror and be like, no,
I'm good with what I see. Yeah, it's so important.
It's so important. I think we have to remind ourselves
and that we're worthy, we're good. You know, we don't
have to keep proving ourselves. We have to appreciate who
we are and you know, we have goals, right, We're
not perfect, but I think to just appreciate the value
(47:34):
that each of us brings, it's really important, and to
make sure that we bring our voices to the tables
and whatever we're doing to drive that.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
Right now, you have an opportunity to offer yourself a
piece of advice. Let's go back to when you made
that decision to say, I'm not going to be what
I thought that I was supposed to be. I'm not
going to be a doctor. I'm going to tell my
parents and that I'm kind of leaning in this other direction.
(48:03):
Knowing what you know, now, what would you tell your younger.
Speaker 1 (48:07):
Self, my younger self to just continue to trust myself,
don't second guess it, don't question myself. You know, it's
hard because it's when you're younger, you want to fit in,
you want to be like everyone else. You also want
to meet the expectations that those around you have for you.
So I think if I would have known like it's
(48:28):
okay to think differently and to be myself and to
trust myself, that would have been helpful to hear as
a kid. Yeah, and what I'm also hearing you say
is like the importance of being honest with yourself about
the expectations you have for yourself, because those are going
to be what's most important along the way.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
Yes, yeah, absolutely, Sima. I'm so happy that we did this.
I'm so honored that you allowed me to be your
first podcast. I know you're not the most active on
social but if someone wants to keep up with you,
if someone wants to keep up with Nike, where do
they find you?
Speaker 3 (49:02):
You can find me on LinkedIn. Yeah, and then also
on Instagram too. Okay, Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 2 (49:08):
I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast.
Another Hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.
I think we have to remind ourselves that we're worthy,
we're good. We don't have to keep proving. We have
to appreciate who we are and to make sure that
we bring our voices to the tables and whatever we're
doing to drive that.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hey everyone, Emily here, you're listening to another episode of Hurdle,
a podcast featuring the mindset, secrets, and true stories of
the most inspiring women in sports and wellness, empowering you
to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life and of course,
conquer your own hurdles. This week, I'm sitting down with
Sema Simmons. She's a general manager of Running for North
(00:50):
America at Nike, and we were able to chat live
when I was down in San Antonio last week for
the Running event. Sema shares her journey today from being
a young athlete who loved team sports and group fitness
to becoming a powerful leader at one of the world's
most recognizable brands. In this episode, Seema gets candid about
the unexpected turns in her career path, from pivoting away
(01:13):
from engineering in college to navigating her first role in
finance and Nike. She shares how her background a team
Sports laid the foundation for her leadership style, emphasizing the
importance of diverse teamwork, hard work, and letting go of
the need to be the expert in the room. We
also discuss how she balanced her demanding career while becoming
(01:33):
a mother, the power of vulnerability in leadership, and how
Nike is working to make running more inclusive and less intimidating,
especially for women. Seema even offers a touching anecdote about
the handwritten note from her mom that gave her the
courage to trust her gut. This combos fact with actionable
insights on career evolution, finding balance, and the courage it
(01:56):
takes to pursue your own version of success. Make sure
you are following on with Hurdle So we're at Hurdle podcast.
You can also check out iHeart Women's Sports. Over at
iHeart Women's Sports and me over at Emily a Body.
Listen to Hurdle with Emily a Body on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
And with that, let's get to it. Let's get it's
a hurdling today.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I'm sitting down with Sema Simmons. She is the GM
of running for North America at Nike SEMA.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Welcome to hurdle. How are we?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I'm good. Thank you for having me, Emily. I am
so excited to be here with you. We are in
San Antonio. This is the highlight of my trip to
San Antonio. My highlight too. I've never done a podcast before. Wow,
how does that make you feel?
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Well?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I am a quiet and private person, so kind of
freaks me out. But with you, I'm excited to be here.
She has to say that. She totally has to say that,
never done a podcast before. Do you listen into podcasts?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
I do?
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Okay, do you have any favorites? Well, I listened to
I was listening to a few of yours.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
You don't feel.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Know.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
I love the way that.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
You bring the storytelling to life, especially around women in sport,
because you know that is what I'm passionate about. So yeah,
I love listening to you. But other podcasts suggestions Brenane Brown,
Oh yeah, just you know her advice. I always use
the clearest kind. Oh we love clearers kind.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Yes, I know. I'm a Brene fan as well.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
The good thing about podcasts when you're someone that's as
busy as you is that it enables you to learn
and like do things as you're doing other things, which
means and what I'm getting to is, you're probably a
pretty busy person, Sema.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Would you agree?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I agree, yes, Yeah. The days are busy. They can
be long sometimes too. When someone hears that you're the
GM of Running for North America and Nike, give me
like a summation of what that means. Okay, So the
easiest way to understand it is, I'm in charge of
bringing to life all things running in North America and
that means powering up a cross functional team. So think
(04:12):
about merchandizing, brand, sales, finance, all of the functions that
touch how we bring product to life and the experiences
to life for our consumers. So the goal is to
serve runners, and that is what my job is. And
that's really fun to think about. How do we serve runners,
especially right now with the running boom that's going on
(04:33):
around the world.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah, the running boom. I feel like everyone's talking. This week.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
We're in San Antonio for a large conference which is
called the Running Event. So naturally a lot of people
that are here are talking about.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Said running boom.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
What happens when you're in a job and something like
that happens. I mean, does it change or has it
changed to the way that you think and do your
role regularly.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
No, what's fun is that my time at Nike would've
noticed is we are here to serve athletes and we
just keep them at the center of what we do,
so regardless of what's happening in the world, that's job
number one. What's fun is with the running boom, there's
more people out there signing up for races or going
out and running with a run crew and a club.
So there's just more excitement and talk about the sport
(05:22):
that we are loving and serving every day. So I
don't think it's changed the work, but it just brings
actually more highlights and presents around the work. I think
elevates the importance of it and it gets more eyes on it.
But it's exciting to see, and especially I think in
the women's space.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Now, I know you yourself ran Nike's after Dark Tour
earlier this year, but have you always been an active person?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Has running always been a part of your routine? That's
a great question.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I don't even know if I would call myself a runner,
you know, what's really funny is I think, and I
think more women are like this too, even if they run,
they're like, I'm not a runner. I grew up playing
team sports, so I played soccer in basketball when I
was younger, and then I think I transitioned to group fitness.
So I grew up in the eighties, I was doing
aerobics with my mom, Steph aerobics. You know, loved like
(06:14):
group fitness classes and took that into college. Was always
signed up for group fitness classes as part of my schedule.
And so, yeah, being a fit and well has been
an important part of my life. And I think it's
fun right now because I have twin daughters that are
teenagers and they've gotten into running in high school and
they love running. And that's what inspired me to sign
(06:37):
up for the after Dark Tour race. I ran out
with them. I mean, they were much further ahead of
me in that race. I wouldn't say we were running together,
but we were all part of that race, yeah together,
and to have that moment together was really fun. So,
you know, it's part of my life and part of
my fitness routine.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
It's cool that you had an active lifestyle modeled for
you by your mother, and then you brought that into
your parenting style.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
It's very clear.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
For me as I hear that that like what an
opportunity it is to instill that value into your own
family and use it in that way.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
To pivot back to your team sports background. Growing up
probably a huge component and learning for you on community
teamwork and integrating those lessons into what you do today.
(07:40):
Do you feel as though your background playing team sports
has informed a little bit of how you lead?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Definitely, yeah. I think team sports are a great, great
way to learn about teamwork right, and everyone has their roles,
especially in basketball, which was my favorite sport to play.
I was the forward, so you knew like what the
point guard needed to do, the center, the forward. We
all had our roles, and I think I keep that
in mind today when I'm with the team, especially my role.
As I explain as a GM, I'm working with a
(08:07):
cross functional team. Nobody actually reports directly to me. It's
all indirect and pulling together a group of people with
diverse backgrounds and really need to understand the role that
each person plays to bring to life that power to
do our goals and bring our vision to life right
of serving runners, so that teamwork aspect was really important.
(08:28):
And then also I think hard work, right, so you
get out what you put in, and you learn that
really quickly. In sports, my dad had put a basketball
hoop up above our garage door, and when I was little,
I just loved being out there and shooting, and so
I got really good at my free throw. So I
was new if I got fouled and I needed to
shoot some free throws, I would make those free throws.
And that is because of the time and the effort
(08:49):
that you put in, and that's something that you bring
into your life right of like anything that you're doing,
and especially of course in my career and in my
work that I do, it's the hard work, the time
that you put in that drives the results and what
you want to get out of it. So interesting to
think about, Okay, if I'm doing something and I might
not be excelling as I would, hope I have this
(09:10):
other skill set that I can fall back on. You
knowing that the free throw was something that you were
good at, and then such an applicable takeaway, like you said,
for career and for life. Speaking of career, you did
not go to college to become the GM of running.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
I did not. I actually never thought that would be
something that I would do. Yeah, let's talk a little
bit about that. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
When I went to school, actually I started studying engineering
because I grew up in a traditional Indian family, and
you know, the two options for me was doctor, engineer.
My dad was an engineer, and I thought that is
a practical option for me. A few terms into it
my freshman year, I figured out quickly, I'm like, this
is not the right fit for me. So I switched
(09:54):
over to business. Called my parents. Remember my mom cried,
She's like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Are you sure? We don't?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know? It just wasn't a space that was familiar
in our family. And I said, I think this is
what I want to do. And so it was a
good lesson of trusting your gut and trying to figure out, like,
what's the right fit for you. But went into business,
studied accounting. When I graduated, I started at Deloitte, so
worked as an auditor. I did that for two years
and it was fun. But you know who looks forward
(10:22):
to seeing an auditor? No one. I'm like, I'm not
going to be the person that tells you that, but yeah,
I will tell you that from my experience, and I
wanted to feel like I was part of a team
and valued and people looked forward to seeing seeing me.
I grew up in the Portland area, so when there
was an opening at Nike and finance, that was the
(10:43):
perfect place to apply and get my feet in the door.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And that was in two thousands.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
So I've been at Nike for twenty five years and
I've worked in many different roles. Honestly, I had the
opportunity to work in finance for a few years and
then move into planning and merchant. I spent a long
time in footwear. Product was really fun, so talk about
being close to the athlete and listening to the voice
of the consumer. That was really fun to listen to
(11:11):
what they need and bring that to life in product,
and then had the opportunity to move into a GM role.
So it just it was never a path that I
would have actually anticipated or thought of because it was
so so diverse and so different from what I had studied.
There's so much to double click on here. The first
thing I want to go to is this understanding or
(11:33):
feeling or inkling that you had that I want to
do something different. Was that a really scary conversation to
have with your parents?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
It was very scary. Yeah, talk to me about that.
So I'm the.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Oldest of three kids, also the oldest grandchild on my
dad's side of the family, and so my parents moved
to the US to come to college right and to
start a new life for a family. So I always
felt like there was that expectation and pressure on me
of like, what I do is making my family proud.
And I'm very close to my family, and that was
(12:06):
definitely something that drove me as a kid, and so
I wanted to make them happy. I thought being an
engineer would make them happy. And when I figured out
that that is actually not what I want to do,
I felt like I was going to disappoint them.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
And it was a hard conversation.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Because it was when I offered a pay I think
I'm going to move into business. That was just an
unknown space in my family, and nobody knew what that meant. So,
you know, I think it was just a space that
my parents had to feel they get used to and
feel okay with letting me explore and realize that that
is something that's good for me, but maybe just not
(12:41):
something that might have been in their plans.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Did you feel as though you had pushback when you
garnered up the courage to tell them what you were
feeling in your heart.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yes you did. Yeah, okay, I had a little pushback.
But then I remember having that initial conversation. It was uncomfortable.
My grandma called me next day. You know, it's a
close knit family and so much expectation, and I think
because of the love you know that they have, they
want what's best for you. But I think in that
(13:10):
space I had to figure out what was best for
me based on my feelings and not their experiences. But
then a week into it, I got a card from
my mom in the mail at college, handwritten note just
saying she loved me. She was so proud of me,
and she knows that whatever I do, that I'm going
to be great at it, because that was her one
thing when I was growing up, The thing that she
(13:32):
would always tell all of us kids is that she
wanted us to work hard in life because she wanted
us to be able to be independent and to support ourselves.
And so she came around and kind of just reinforced
that message for me. And just knowing that she said,
you know, she loved me, and she was proud of me,
and she was supportive.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
That meant the world. It took a lot of courage
to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
And then what happened when you did that was that
you were in alignment. And when we're in alignment, there
are going to be scary things that happen, but ultimately
what's meant to be is going to be. And so
to have this moment where you felt then so seen
by your mom with that handwritten note that reminded you, Okay,
(14:14):
moving forward, I'm going to continue to trust my gut,
which is a scary thing to do. It is, Yeah,
it is a scary thing. It also was a good
lesson of like, you can't just plan out everything right
because when I was little, it's like, Okay, I'm going
to go to school, I'm going to be an engineer,
I'm going to get married. By this age, it's like,
(14:34):
not everything goes to plan. Even having the girls took
longer than I'd expect, didn't go to plan.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
My career didn't start as a GM.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
I was in finance, you know, and moved into so
many different roles. So I think it's like, trust your
gut and go with it and then have fun with
that journey.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Honestly, so important.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
So you apply to this finance role at Nike, so
different than being an auditor. Yes, probably that went hand
in hand with that as well. So yeah, yeah, so much.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Do you remember where you were when you found out
you got the job? I think yes, I was. I
was in a meeting at my role at Deloitte and
had gotten an email asking me to call the person
that interviewed me. So I excused myself and made the
quick call, and you know, you want to scream it
obviously at work, so I had to kind of contain
the excitement, and when I got home had the celebration
(15:25):
with my family.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
So I was very excited about that shift.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
My gosh, and also I really appreciated the light that
you shed on what in intricate journey it's been to
get to this point. Oftentimes I believe that we do feel,
as you talked about before, like I should be doing
this or I should be doing that. There was no
path that you were following at Nike. So when you
(15:51):
made that first step beyond a finance role, talk to
me about the thought process that went with that and
perhaps what you had to you to trust your gut again.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I was in finance for five years, so I'd started
as the financial analyst, and then within five years I
was a senior manager of the team, and I through
my role, I got to support a lot of different
leaders and one of the leaders had reached out from
planning and said, had you ever have you ever considered
a role in this group? And I had not because
(16:22):
it'd worked so hard to move up on my team
and I was comfortable right. I knew what I was doing,
knew how to drive the business there. But then it
sparked an interest because it was a little bit closer
to product, a little closer to serving the consumer, and
I thought, Okay, what would that feel like and be like?
And I had to talk myself into being okay of
not being the expert. I remember my first few meetings
(16:43):
when I had gotten the role to move into that
I had no idea what people were talking about. So
many different acronyms thrown out in the meetings and deadlines.
I have no idea what this even means. And I
had to go and ask my team because I had
a team that I was leading, they were the experts.
That was my first lesson actually for that I take
really seriously as a leader of empowering my team. They
(17:06):
were the experts and had learned how to what role
that a leader plays is really empowering your team and
being a little bit at a higher level, right and driving
the strategy, finding the resources for your team versus being
in the weeds and the details. Honestly, I think they
probably enjoyed that, and then it was a good way
to learn as a leader, like this is the way
(17:26):
I should operate because in finance I probably asked maybe
some more of those details because I was in all
of the roles and had moved through it. But it
was scary, and as I've moved into different functions, I
think I remember a leader telling me, as you move
into different roles, just remember what you're good at. You
kind of keep one foot on the ground, right, and
it's okay if that other one is a little shaky
(17:48):
or unstable, because at least you've got some susstability in life,
and then the rest of it you're going to learn
along the way.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
That was fun. You were shooting free throws with one
foot right.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
You talked about also working on product, and I think
that is such an interesting thing, especially because it just
to me when I think about, like, Okay, I'm wearing
socks right now, but if I was wearing sneakers, the
sneaker is on my foot. There are so many things
that have to happen for that sneaker to end up on.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
My foot and the process.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It's not like, again, you stepped into this role and
you understood how that worked. Talk to me a little
bit about what it's like to work on product at Mike.
You what product you were working on and I'm sure
that evolved over time, and what you learned about.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
That creative process.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I loved working on product because you have something tangible
that you're creating, right and especially when you're finished with
creating that product and it to the consumer or the athlete,
to see the reaction that people have on when you
take the shoe out of the bag and surprise them
with new innovation, colors, whatever. People get very emotional right
on the product and they love it. I learned a
(19:12):
lot when I started working on product. First of just
how do you listen to true insights from consumers. So
there's lots of expertise, there's lots of passion around product creation,
and we have a lot of athletes on the product team.
So right now I work on the running team. There
are a lot of runners that work on our footwear product.
They know what people need, all of the technical aspects,
(19:34):
which is fun to geek out on, but then also
just how you make it beautiful, look good, feel good,
right like all of those elements that are so important
in product. But it was fun to kind of be
part of that journey and understand what does it take
from innovation to design all the way to manufacturing, so
all of those nuances. Like you said, you don't realize
(19:54):
how complicated it is to make product. When I went
to a factory for the first time, it was crazy
to see how big our factories are and all the
different steps that it takes to make a shoe, and
then to think how many pairs of shoes are created
every year. So it's a complicated process, but it is
really fun and so fulfilling. Like I said, when you
kind of create something that runners athletes love.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
At the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
And you're talking about the feedback loop, can you give
some insight on how that works, because I think that's
actually just such an interesting part of the process. Yeah,
you know, you start the process with a brief for
a shoe, and that is embedded with so many insights
around athletes. Whether it's a new creation, new innovation that
you're creating, or an update to a shoe like the Pegasus.
(20:42):
The team will sit down and look at like, what
are some of those insights that we want to kick
the process off with, and then as we design and
build the shoe, we have samples that we test with
all of our athletes. One of the things that we've
done is really in running over index with women in
our testing, as we have found that women give great feedback,
(21:03):
so crazy tangible feedback that's actionable, but it actually makes
the product better for him and her. So there's a
lot of feedback and insights that go in even as
we're creating that product. We take that feedback as they're
testing the footwear and the apparel and embed it into
how we fine tune that product before it's finalized. So
there's a lot of feedback loop throughout the process before
(21:26):
everything comes to fruition. And so you have Nike athletes
as a part of this process. But then you also
work with specific wear testers. Yes, can you shed some
light on that how that works? How does if I'm
listening to this and I'm like, well, I want to
be a wear tester? How does someone become a wear tester?
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Yeah? Our product team, our product testing team is always
looking for wear testers. They're looking they're building the network
of people that are of the sport. So if for running,
we're looking for people that put in certain mileage each
week and that are good at giving the feedback too.
It's not just about wearing the product.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
You don't just get to tests as issues and not
only to do the work. It's not just about getting
the fresh new product. It's also about how can you
give meaningful feedback to make that product better? Because that
is the whole point. We want people to wear the
product and then give us the insights to make it better.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Meaningful feedback something that I'm sure you got as you
evolved through the different roles to get to where you
are now. Do you recall some of what maybe in
the moment, felt like to be some very difficult feedback
that then empowered you to be better and continue to
(22:42):
grow on your journey throughout Nike.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yeah, it's a great question. I think, like I said,
my personality is quiet, and some of the feedback that
I would get initially in my career is you're too
quiet and you have a different leadership style than we
have at Nike. And you know, that really made me
pause and think about how am make in advance in
(23:07):
my career if I'm viewed a certain way that is
not the norm of the way maybe leaders show up
at the workplace. And I had to find a balance
of being authentic to myself and keeping my personality, you know,
coming through, but then also making sure that I elevate
my voice in those spaces and let people know that
(23:28):
I have a point of view and a direction that
I want to drive. So I had tried early on,
like how do I be more outgoing and extrovert. It
doesn't feel natural, it doesn't feel authentic, And I honestly
feel like if you want to lead a team and
have people connect with you, you do have to be
authentic to yourself. I'm a quiet person, but in the
forums where I need to lead a team or explain
(23:50):
something to senior leadership, I need to make sure that
my voice is cutting through. So I think it's about
combining your authentic self with understand standing how you need
to show up in those environments and make sure that
the work gets done and that you stand up for
yourself in that you can be soft but firm, kind
(24:11):
but firm, and that as I get older, is I
agree with you something that is so much quote unquote
louder and special than screaming into the void just because
you feel like you're supposed to be screaming.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
I agree, Yeah, don't think.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I never feel like I have to be the one
that does the most talking in a meeting. What I
want people to remember is, wow, she made an amazing point.
I want the words that I share to have that
impact versus she talked the whole time. And also that
you listened. I think that's also a really important quality
(24:49):
of a leader, is that you listen, because that's how
you learn what the team needs or what the consumer needs.
And I feel like, if you're spending your time talking
the whole time, some things that are really important to
listen to.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
This is really inspirational for me thinking about you as
you've evolved within your time at Nike. This is simultaneously
happening as you are building a family, right and both
of those things certainly have their own challenges. You spoke
before about that process taking perhaps longer than you had anticipated.
(25:24):
How did you navigate the emotional side of that while
trying to level up also within your career, because it's
lots of balance.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
It's a lot to balance. Honestly, I think I kept
a lot of it in, yeah, and very private. That
was hard because there's so much going on in my
personal life, and then you try to show up at
work and do your best, your supportive to your team
and giving energy to your team. It was hard for
me to go through all of that. What I learned
from that is knowing you don't know what's going on
(25:57):
in someone's life, so as a leader, to be empathetic,
to be in tune to check in. Because I don't
think that I had that in my journey. Necessarily it
was on me. I was keeping it quiet and so private,
and so I think about that today as I'm leading
teams of how do I just make sure that I'm
there for my team, create an environment where people can share.
(26:18):
I have learned the importance of sharing those things and
being more vulnerable because I think if you show that
human side of yourself, people can connect to you as well.
I wouldn't have done that earlier on in my career
of like, hey, these things are things that I'm trying
to work on or trying to achieve, because I was
almost like trying to be a perfect you know, and
(26:40):
show up in a certain way. I think I've shifted
that of like now I'm very open with like, hey,
this is something that I'm trying that I'm not really
good at.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Running is a great example. When I was running.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
I'm not the fastest runner, but I'm out there and
I'm trying and I'm having fun.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
And that goes back to again this model behavior, like
you showing up and being this vulnerable leader gives others
permission then to say, Okay, I also don't have it
all together. How often are we pretending that we have
it all together? I know, yes, I don't know why
we feel the pressure to do to do that. The
other thing too, that you know that journey taught me
(27:17):
is when I did have my girls, it made me
appreciate being a mom so much more for all that
I did, and then also appreciated my mom.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
So much more but it helped me with the balance.
To your point in question of you know, how do
you balance that busy schedule. I am very driven at work,
I also love being a mom. At the end of
the day, my priority is to be a mom, so
I will get my meetings and my work done, but
(27:47):
I'm there for the soccer game or their track meet,
you know. And I also find that that is important
to make sure that you showcase that to your teams,
so other people with other priorities, whether it's kids or
whatever is going on in their life, they know that
there is balance and that's important.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
You had to have missed something that made you understand that.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I think I saw other women around me sacrificing the
time with family.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Yeah, and it was like really loud for you to
see loud for me.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
And before I had the girls, I had a loss
that made me realize like, if I'm going and if
I'm working this hard to be a mom, there's nothing
that's going to come that's more important than this for me. Yeah,
I think it was my journey of getting to that
point that made me realize, like, there's nothing that's going
to be more important than showing up for my kids.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Yeah, we're doing this daily journaling challenge for the community
of listeners throughout December, reflecting on the year. And the
prompt that was for day four was just articulate two
hurdles that you've overcome this year. And what I find
to be so interesting is that often when we are
going through these difficult moments, we may not even give
(28:58):
ourselves enough credit for the tenacity and the diligence that
it requires to come out on the other side and
keep going. And you're speaking of quite a difficult, large
hurdle perhaps, but there are small things that were overcoming
each and every day that we don't give ourselves credit for.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
And so when you go through a moment like that
where you do.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Learn I am resilient, you are reminded that you can
push through difficult moments. It then empowers and enables you
to show up for the smaller ones along the way,
as you were then stepping into your power as a
mom while building and pivoting continuously at Nike. How does
(29:43):
one show up for herself Because I know there's not
a lot of time for that.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
It feels that though as though there's not a lot
of time for that, there isn't. Yeah, that's such a
great point, Emily. I think that's the one thing that
I think I sacrificed early on, is you just put
so much right, put so much into your family, so
much into your career, and then you kind of almost
burn out and you realize, I need to actually give
myself some time too. And then that's where I would
(30:12):
make sure that I made time to work out or
do something that was my time for myself. That was
my favorite time for myself. Go for a walk with
the dog, go to the gym, get a fitness class in,
you know, go for a quick run, and then needed
let me time. It was minimal, but you need to
make that time because remember someone telling me, like, if
(30:33):
you don't take care of yourself, how are you going
to take care of others?
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Right?
Speaker 1 (30:37):
And I always want to take care of others. I
think that was the example that my mom set. I
love that she's there for everyone, and I think that's
what I modeled and I saw that in her and
I wanted to be that. But there's only so much
you can do for everyone else. If you're burnt out
and you can't take care of yourself, Yeah, how have
you helped your girls understand that. I don't think I've
(31:00):
ever actually said anything to them, but what I think it's,
you know, show leading by example, right, showing them that
they see the work that I put in for my career.
They also see that mom shows up for me at
a school event or anything that they need. So when
they moved to college, which was also just another big
(31:20):
shift this year that we went through, they they had
written me a card as they were moving and what
they told me, which meant so much to me because
you just don't talk about it every day and you
don't assume that your kids see you in this light.
But they're like, Mom, you're a badass at work, but
we appreciate like how much you showed up for me
every day, and you know, you don't get thank yous
(31:42):
from teenagers at all. Yeah, So that meant the world
to me to just know that my girls actually recognize
that as they were growing up, and I think that
just kind of hopefully will be something that they take
away with them to how they Yeah, Yeah, it meant
It really did mean the world to me. And what
a full circle moment because you talked about the note
(32:06):
that your mom wrote you and she said, I see you.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I see that this is important to you. I will
support you no matter what you're doing. This is a
testament to the young woman that you raised. You're getting
a lot, You're getting a lot of great notes. I
hope that you're writing some notes. And do you write
some notes? I love you know.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
And in an era where we text and do so
much digitally, my favorite is to get a card. I
still like, the only thing I want on my birthday
is a handwritten card.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Yeah, handwritten notes.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And as I get older, I understand the value of
curating and creating and gifting experiences in time over anything
material like a new PEG premium respectfully, is very nice
thing to give. However, I would much rather like go
to a cooking class with my dad. Yeah, yeah, something
(33:03):
like that. Yeah, you don't get back the time. And
I'm sure that that's a really big lesson that you've
learned as you have gone through raising your daughters, and
you do so much travel for your job.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Let's talk a little bit.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Let's go back to the job side of things and
talk a little bit about this era that you're in
now as the GM of running up North America. You said,
working cross functionally and with all these different people. But
from like a snapshot, if you have to talk about
a day, you're like, this is cute. I just think
that people still are trying to understand what it would
(33:38):
look like.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Yeah, what does a GM do? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:41):
I know people ask me that all the time because
they'll have that on their career plan. I want to
be a GM ow what does that mean?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I don't even know.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
I think as they see, like, hey, that's the person
that leads the business.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
I get to lead running.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
I mean that is pretty cool at Nike, you know,
that was the heart of our brand, right and where
it's I feel proud every day to be able to
work on the sport that created our brand.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
But what that looks like every day? I mean there's
a lot of meetings and I sit in a lot
of meetings. I do a lot of presentations, which is funny,
you know, to think about as someone that does not
like presenting and talking in front of people. I spend
a lot of my time and the presenting is like
sharing our plans, sharing the vision. My job is to
make sure the vision of where we are going in
Nike Running is clear, and so we're constantly sharing that
(34:30):
we're problem solving, you know, where there's things we're trying
to deliver a season and bring things to life, like
for example, we just got through marathon season, right, it's
my team that brings those experiences to life for the
consumers in the cities.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Can we get really granular? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Okay, so it's my team that brings us experiences to life.
So what's on a deck for an experience? Like, give
me an example of New York City Marathon?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah? Are you making a deck on New York City Marathon? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:58):
My team makes a deck and you know it's around
Like how does the brand show up around the city.
So I'm sure anyone that has seen a major marathon
recently has seen those cheeky lines on the billboards. You
know that Nike brings to life. That's in a deck?
Speaker 3 (35:13):
Was the boat? Was the ferry and the deck? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
So if you're listening to this and you're not familiar this,
they wrapped the Staten Island ferry in a Nike ad
and it was it was epic, But it's like who
comes up with the ferry? Like, I just my mind
is blown to think. Like someone one day was like,
you know what we should do. We should wrap the
Staaten Island ferry in an.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
That's the fun part of the job, right, and how
that comes to life is thinking about the consumer journey
of like, oh, those runners have to be on the ferry, right,
and they're going to see that tagline, you know, like
making sure that we're in front of the runners and
meeting them where they're at. That is all like the
premise of the things that will show up in the
deck y, you know, whether it's you know, wrapping the
(35:59):
faery or the shakeout run that we're partnering with many
run clubs in the city to bring over fifteen hundred
people showed up for the shakeout run the day before
the race, So all of those experiences how we bring
energy along the race course. Those are really fun things
to work through.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
And I'm also sensing this through line of I'm going
to think really big yes that I like get excited
about that because someone says to me, if you had
to think about like you're like, what's your dream thing
that you want to do in twenty twenty six or
what do you want to do at LA twenty eight, Right,
(36:37):
it's really empowering to think of being in a situation
where you feel comfortable enough to say, I'm going to
have the audacity to throw out what some might think
to be is a crazy idea, and I'm surrounded by
people that aren't going to be like, you're absolutely ludicrous.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yes, yeah, I think that that is the energy that
we feed off of.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Honestly, we want to do something that is bold, that's
distinct Nike only. I think our brand is known for
doing things that maybe others wouldn't even breaking for. Was
you know a great example of that breaking too, like
going after things that people might say that's impossible. Yeah,
you know, that's actually what gets us fired up. It's like,
(37:19):
well then let's go after it and make it possible.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
I love that vibe.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
And also, do you feel like you get flack And
I guess, like I'm not saying Sema, but I'm saying Nike.
It's very signature to Nike to be like, we're going
to do these crazy things. And I think that like
if you go on Instagram and you're scrolling through reels
like people are making fun, like there's a vibe, there's
a Nike vibe.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
It's like I'm the biggest, the baddest in the room.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
I'm here to make my presence known, and I believe
that that can be perceived in a couple of different ways.
It can be perceived as we have this ego, et cetera,
and it can just be HI, I'm here and I'm
standing in my power, and I'm going to be the
person that makes the loudest noise, something that's counterintuitive sometimes
to who you are as someone who doesn't want to
always be the loudest in the room.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
Yeah, your brand wants to be the loudest in the room.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
The brand wants to be the loudest in the room.
But you know, we're a big brand and we're aware
of the impact that we can make. I think that's
why we go after those audacious goals because we can
and we should. And it starts with the athlete. The
athletes are the ones that have those audacious goals. It
was Faith that wants to go after breaking the four
(38:27):
minute mile barrier, and we're there to help her as
a brand power that up. I also think, though, you
balance it with how you show up for consumers every day.
You know, that's the shakeout run, that's the guidance that
we can provide through our training plans for the consumers
that have the goal of running their first marathon or
a faster time. So I think it's that balance of
(38:49):
things that we do at scale, which people might say like, Okay,
that's Nike doing their Nike thing. Yeah, and we will
always do that. It's also the intimate moments that we
think about to hopefully create more of those human connects
and make people feel a part of the community, not
necessarily like, hey, this is Nike doing something. I want
(39:23):
to talk about the future of running as Nike sees it.
This year, you as a brand really came forward and
invested in women with the after Dark series, making a
really big push to target her within the you know,
confines of whatever you're allowed to tell me.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
Is that something that we will continue to see going forward.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Yes, you will see a continued focus on serving women
and running. It's something very close to my heart. It's
something that a lot of people are very passionate about
at Nike. And again it goes back to serving re
women are signing up for more races. She is out
there running with us, and we will continue to think
about ways to serve her across product and experiences. And
(40:11):
I'm so excited. I had some of the ideas there
we're cooking out.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
I'm like, I feel like I also know things that
we're not talking about right now, but I'm just reeling
it in respectfully, speaking of after Dark, how does brand
gauge success with something like that, Like, yes, selling out
is exciting, Yes the pr is exciting, But what's like
the success metric?
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Like, did Nike see this as a massive success? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (40:36):
I think we saw it as a massive success because
we heard from women that they wanted to come back
and race with us again. And I think that's what
we want. We want to get women to the starting
line and across the finish line and then come back
again and run with us. And just having that positive
sentiment that she enjoyed the experience and felt the power
of the collective meant more to us than you know
(40:59):
the number people that are there. But just let's bring
her back and have her run with us and bring
some friends next year, bring some friends. Yeah, what are
you thinking about for the next year?
Speaker 3 (41:11):
Dude? So I did.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
I ran all of the world major marathons and finished
them two years ago.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
It's amazing, loved it.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
Congratulations you I do have Sydney on my vision board.
I think in twenty six I've never been to Australia,
I know, and it's a big trip.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
Have you been to Australia?
Speaker 1 (41:31):
I have, Okay, Yeah, I went for a work event Setney.
Oh it's amazing.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
And so I'm sure if you went for a work event,
you weren't there for as long as you wish that
you could be. So my thought process is that I'll
probably run the Sydney Marathon this year and I'm aiming
to be in that part of the world for give her.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Take around ten days. I feel like you have to
be there for that long.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think it would be great to experience
that and we'll be cheering you on.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Oh, you'll be cheering me on, I know. Speaking of
goal setting.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
GM, of running for North America, what's on your vision
board moving forward for your career?
Speaker 1 (42:08):
I actually feel like right now I'm in my dream job.
I love my job. I love you so passionate about running.
I've got a great team, and I like the GM
role because it is bringing people together and leveraging their expertise.
But I wouldn't be mad at going back to product someday.
So you know, I think the GM space, our product
(42:28):
role are areas that I'm super passionate about, So I
am open to that. And honestly, since I never knew
like what was the next thing that was coming, I'm
open to what are other areas that I could learn
and grow?
Speaker 3 (42:42):
But right now I am thankful for being in running.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Yeah, it's so cool to hear that you've been so
open to learning this entire time.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
You've been so open to feedback this entire time.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
When someone hears from you, myself included, they're inspired, I'm
sure by your journey. If you had to offer advice
to someone that is aspiring to this level of leadership,
that is aspiring to getting to a place where maybe
they hold their dream job, what do.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
You have to offer them?
Speaker 1 (43:12):
Yeah, I would say, be curious and then enjoy the journey.
So don't be about, hey, I want to be in
this role in ten years. Specifically, it's great to have
a vision, but it may not always go kind of
exactly as planned. I would have never mapped out my
career the way it was, and so I think it
was okay with just moving in different areas. Sometimes those
(43:34):
roles are not always like hey, each one is a promotion.
You know, sometimes you have to take those lateral moves
to learn something new and a new area that then
sets you up for the next big one. But I
think just take each step as a way to learn
something new, build that network, and have fun with it.
People ask me why I've been at Nike for twenty
five years. It is because I've had the opportunity to
(43:56):
do so many different things and work in so many areas,
and it's the people that keep me there.
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Well, that was what I was going to ask you,
is that I it's interesting about the sneaker industry because
I do feel like you see this a lot. You
see folks that have been at brands, whether it be
ni He or a competitor, and they've been there for ten, fifteen,
twenty twenty five years.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
Yeah, why do you think of that as I think
there's so.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
Much passion in that space, and you know, you build
a lot into a brand and you want to see
your vision come to life. So I think that keeps
people in a space where you're working towards those bigger
goals and it feels like, you know, you build a
family at work too. You're close to your teammates. It's
a competitive environment, but there's so much passion around what
(44:42):
everyone is doing, and then that builds such a fun
culture that I think keeps people there.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
I obviously have a very different job, but I get
to see what it is that you do, and it's
so funny because there are so many aspects of our
job that are quite fun and outside of the box.
Like you're talking about traveling to run with your daughters, yeah,
and like that's kind of part of the job, right,
(45:09):
And for me, I'll have friends that are like.
Speaker 3 (45:11):
How's kindergarten today?
Speaker 2 (45:13):
And like, just because I'm not today sitting with an
Excel spreadsheet does not mean that there aren't moments when
I am like literally like where's the money coming from?
Speaker 3 (45:22):
I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
But to your point, I do think that a reason
that people stay around this climate for so long is
because there is a lot of joy and almost at
times opportunity to play. And that is something that can
be so lost in the working environment. Is like the
beauty of playing and the beauty of taking risks and
(45:47):
doing new things.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Yeah, it gives you that space to imagine. Yeah, I
mean that is fun, right, It's not. Every day is
almost different, you know, going back to your question around like,
what does a GM do?
Speaker 3 (45:57):
I feel like every day is pretty differ.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
You've got different problems to solve, different dreams to think about.
It's fun to have that creative space. And today your
first podcast, my first podcast, how did I do em?
Speaker 3 (46:11):
Yeah? Theesema, You've done so well before I let you go.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
Today, someone maybe for your role, I would say, maybe
someone comes to your LinkedIn and they see you as
this GM of running. But when you look in the mirror, Seema,
what is it that you see looking back at you?
I see someone that has put in the effort and
that has worked hard to make my mom proud, to
(46:36):
make my daughters proud. And so that's who I see
in the mirror, and that's what I keep in my
mind as I show up every day. Yeah, and what
an important reminder again when you said earlier you were like,
I realized very quickly that my number one priority was
being a mom. To look in the mirror and see
(46:56):
someone that makes yourself proud. Sell worth is how you
feel about yourself when you're by yourself, and you're never
going to get that from how you show up necessarily
in one specific meeting.
Speaker 3 (47:09):
Right, it's that.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
Opportunity to look in the mirror and be like, no,
I'm good with what I see. Yeah, it's so important.
It's so important. I think we have to remind ourselves
and that we're worthy, we're good. You know, we don't
have to keep proving ourselves. We have to appreciate who
we are and you know, we have goals, right, We're
not perfect, but I think to just appreciate the value
(47:34):
that each of us brings, it's really important, and to
make sure that we bring our voices to the tables
and whatever we're doing to drive that.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
Right now, you have an opportunity to offer yourself a
piece of advice. Let's go back to when you made
that decision to say, I'm not going to be what
I thought that I was supposed to be. I'm not
going to be a doctor. I'm going to tell my
parents and that I'm kind of leaning in this other direction.
(48:03):
Knowing what you know, now, what would you tell your younger.
Speaker 1 (48:07):
Self, my younger self to just continue to trust myself,
don't second guess it, don't question myself. You know, it's
hard because it's when you're younger, you want to fit in,
you want to be like everyone else. You also want
to meet the expectations that those around you have for you.
So I think if I would have known like it's
(48:28):
okay to think differently and to be myself and to
trust myself, that would have been helpful to hear as
a kid. Yeah, and what I'm also hearing you say
is like the importance of being honest with yourself about
the expectations you have for yourself, because those are going
to be what's most important along the way.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
Yes, yeah, absolutely, Sima. I'm so happy that we did this.
I'm so honored that you allowed me to be your
first podcast. I know you're not the most active on
social but if someone wants to keep up with you,
if someone wants to keep up with Nike, where do
they find you?
Speaker 3 (49:02):
You can find me on LinkedIn. Yeah, and then also
on Instagram too. Okay, Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 2 (49:08):
I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast.
Another Hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.
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