Companies

Brooks Running names VP of Footwear Product Strategy

Feb 16, 2026 United States

The US-based running shoe company has appointed Claire Wood, a former New Balance and Sorel executive, to the newly created role of Vice President of Footwear Product Strategy

In this newly created role, “designed to further accelerate the brand’s industry-leading focus on performance footwear”, Claire Wood will oversee Brooks’ footwear product line management, merchandising, and product marketing teams. She will aim to strengthen the connection between the brand’s long-term vision and product creation and go-to-market strategy.

She is joining Brooks from Sorel, where she most recently served as Vice President of Product Creation and Global Footwear. In this role, she led design, development and product management, driving a multi-year transformation of products and processes. Prior to this, she spent over a decade at New Balance, rising to the position of global product director and strategic business manager of performance running.

Interestingly, her professional career began at Brooks, where she started out as a field marketing representative before becoming one of the brand’s first footwear product line managers. In this role, she helped shape the early evolution of the Brooks Ghost, which is now one of the brand’s best-selling performance running shoes. This appointment therefore represents a sort of homecoming.

“Brooks has always held a place in my heart. This brand has an unmatched focus on the runner and I’m ecstatic to work with such a deeply committed team to connect creativity and craft that runners can feel from the first step”, she said.

Image Credits: wwd.com

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