9 Female Shoe Execs Explain How They Overcame Their Biggest Challenges This Year

The retail landscape is experienced unprecedented change in recent years. Executives have grappled with supply chain and inventory chaos, unpredictable consumer habits and, in some cases, rapid growth and demand.

In FN’s annual “Women Who Rock” issue, we asked female leaders from throughout the shoe industry to talk about the biggest challenge they’ve faced recently and how they — and their teams — overcame it.

Below are their responses, in alphabetical order.

Laura Conwell-O’Brien
Executive director, The Atlanta Shoe Market

“It’s been a major challenge to keep up with the rapid growth of the Atlanta Shoe Market, especially in regard to the international attendees and requests for additional exhibitor space. The August show was sold out in two weeks. To accommodate additional exhibitors, I am planning on expanding to the adjacent hotel in 2024. Another challenge is staying up to date with the latest technologies and trends. With the advancements in digital technology and the rise of virtual events, it’s important to stay relevant and offer a unique and engaging experience for attendees.”

Daianara Grullon Amalfitano
Chief brand & product officer, Aldo Group

“[Our challenge was] how quickly and drastically consumers’ needs and attitudes have evolved. Many of our worlds have been flipped upside down over the past few years, so it stands to reason that our needs, wants and behaviors shift accordingly. Our focus lately has become about trying to think about why consumers should choose Aldo and how we can present ourselves in the market to capture their attention. We’ve always been customer-obsessed, but now more than ever, we’re putting a major emphasis on consumer insights to learn who they are and what they want.”

Sherry Harriman
SVP of logistics & supply chain, Academy Sports + Outdoors

“Perhaps my biggest challenge has been balancing operational disciplines — the structure of the business — with the level of adaptability needed to effectively manage unanticipated challenges. I’ve learned to overcome these challenges by constantly being a student of the business. I believe we should always be learning and growing as the industry changes.”

Christina Henderson
Executive director, The Running Event

“Everything has changed in the past few years — how we communicate, how we consume education, how we do business. The run and outdoor specialty industry are facing challenges they’ve never seen and have new opportunities. We must continue to take initiative, listen and adapt. Each year, we are challenged to take the traditional trade show model and innovate, adjust, reshape and do more to provide the support and value for a changing industry. By implementing new strategies, taking chances, and listening to the needs of the industry, we are able to do more.”

Ginny McCormick
Chief marketing officer, Zappos.com

“Customer indifference is the biggest challenge all brands are facing. We have to intercept customers in new ways at scale that are still authentic and relevant to us. At Zappos, we are doing this by inserting ourselves in cultural conversations that drive social. For example, we jumped into the Green M&M shoe controversy and retirement news. She became a ‘shoe-influencer’ for Zappos during her Super Bowl break. This scrappy approach relevantly brought our brand into a conversation that reminded our current customers why they love the brand, while simultaneously acquiring new shoppers and engaging millions of fans.”

Renee Newman
VP of sales, Aetrex Worldwide

“This past year there were more external challenges than we had anticipated. One example is some retailers were over-inventoried and some were under due to prior supply chain issues within the industry. I believe we were successful because we acknowledged the challenges early, identified the issues and worked in partnership to find solutions that could work for each retailer, knowing the solution would not be one size fits all.”

Britt Olsen
GM of North America, On

“It’s been tough to forecast the exceptional growth and strong demand for On, and that has sometimes resulted in us not being the most excellent operational partner. It is so important for us, and if I’m being honest, we aren’t where we want to be. I’m confident in our team’s ability to now get here, but it does take time to perfectly sync when you need resources. From a brand perspective, it is important that we always remain true to our core as a performance running brand.”

Andrea Paulson
VP of engineering & human performance, Saucony

“The pandemic’s lingering effects made it [difficult] to revolutionize both materials and manufacturing processes. We still could not travel overseas, so much of what we built and how we built it was created without the sense of touch and sight and the practice of trial and error. In the absence of that proximity, we had to radically evolve. The team’s level of detail and nuance had to increase greatly, and their superb communication skills were invaluable. Simultaneously, we had to trust each other far more than ever. We are very much subject matter experts and not often comfortable relying on others to fill in the blanks. With a little patience and humility, the team grew even stronger. We developed, produced and launched a new material having barely any physical interaction with the manufacturing.”

Lisa Tucker
President, Shoe Show

“[Our biggest challenge was] recognition of current talent and retention of those assets. Companies have to focus on taking care of the current team while still trying to recruit the right people for open positions. Having good, strong leaders in place is the key to a successful business.”