BRANDIS
RUSSELL
Dream Warrior
About Me
I am a dream warrior who believes life has no boundaries.
I am the only daughter of a retired teacher and retired Army officer who has been shaped to have a strong work ethic and drive.
I am the mother of a vibrant life force whose curiosity and courage inspires me daily.
I am passionate about living my life with a sense of purpose and duty.
I am a philonoist with a thirst to continuously learn and to constantly expose myself to new experiences and opportunities.
I am a hopeless optimistic who believes in the best of people and life's circumstances.
I live and lead from the heart, as I believe the heart brings forth our most authentic persona.
I am Brandis Russell.
Work Experience
Nike, Vice President, Men's Sportswear Running Footwear Portland, OR, 2016 - Today
Cultivated an agenda for leading the market in Sneaker Innovation. Developed a consumer-focused strategy aligned with a cadence to launch a Brand defining innovation in the product range 1x year. This lead to the creation of an innovation roadmap focused on unlocking new consumer value and building equity for the Brand.
Collaborated with cross-functional partners (Merchandising, Sales, and Brand Marketing) to develop strategies and tactics to establish the Brand as a Catalyst of Sneaker Culture. Aligned on the marketplace management of key franchises of business, developed seasonal go to market strategies, and created seasonal high heat initiatives to drive energy.
Led and oversaw an organization of 30 individuals with diverse experiences and skill sets in Design, Development, Product Marketing, and Engineering. Leveraged this talent to drive 5% growth YTD of the business through creating inspiring products for consumers.
Nike, Senior Footwear Product Director, Women's Sportswear
Portland, OR, 2014 - 2016
Category leader of the Women’s Sportswear Footwear business, # 1 marketshare leader for past three years and leading catalyst that ignited a booming athletic footwear industry which redefined sneakers as a style choice in the Women’s fashion marketplace.
Cultivated and implemented an agenda to obsess “Made for Her” Product Excellence that guided a team of Developers and Product Line Managers to have a sharp focus on color & materials, shape & proportion, innovation, and design specially targeted to the female consumer.
Developed growth strategies for key franchises (Air Max, Modern, Heritage and Basketball) of business by identifying critical areas of resource investment, key enablers and priorities to fuel consumer demand and drive marketshare growth.
Nike, Footwear Product Director and Senior Product Line Manager, Women's Sportswear, Portland, OR, 2012 - 2014
Initiated and owned a multi-phased product/concept road-map with a focus on the AF1, with the objective, to re-ignite this ICON for HER. Worked with Demand Planning to analyze franchise trends from FY’10-13, compared bookings between Women’s, Men’s, and YA’s AF1 business, and launched a North America Consumer Case Study to mind for consumer insights.
Presented and worked closely with Design, Development, Brand Marketing, Merchandising and Sales to activate this plan at all levels starting in SP’14. Lead to 3x the business over the course of 2 years.
Seasonally worked with Design to drive a tiered color and material execution strategy for key models of focus. Created clear briefs that supported the businesses seasonal objectives at all levels (Essential/Seasonal/Premium).
Brand Jordan, Footwear Senior Product Line Manager
Portland, OR, 2006 - 2012
Appointed as the lead on executing energy concepts (BIN 23, Dave White for WINGS, and Vashtie). These projects had 100% ST in hours of release. The Dave White project helped raised $23K to support Jordan community-related initiatives.
Developed and lead the introduction and execution of a Winterized Footwear series. Worked with Design to identify “Winterized” principles and most relevant styles to introduce the program. Bookings in HO’09 were $4M, and in HO’10 expanded to $5M. Growth from HO’10 to HO’11 at 135% (an additional $7M vs. PY).
Increased revenue in the Girls Footwear business from $33M in FY’08 to $60M in FY’09 through relevant and compelling footwear collections in color and materials as well as strategic merchandising and assortment planning by account/channel. By FY’12 the Girls Footwear business was approximately $90M.
Charged with leading a developing footwear category for the Brand in the Men's Regional Off Court business. This included identifying the consumer, developing the product opportunity, seeking new channels of distribution with Sales, and briefing consumer relevant seasonal assortments. The Off Court business is currently about 25-30% of the total footwear business.
Identified new areas of growth and improved operating efficiencies within the Off Court segment of the Apparel business which resulted in improved profitability on average of +3 points (TY vs. LY) and increased revenue on an average of 50% to prior seasons. This included the launch of Jordan Classics which generated bookings of $2M in the first season.
Responsible for product presentations to large and small audiences, this includes creating and driving direction around the tools needed to convey a compelling story/message.
Education
University of Virginia
Bachelor of Arts, Economics
Recognition & Honors
2004 - Nike Maxim “Simplify and Go” Award for the Urban Apparel Launch Team
2009 - Jordan “Black Cat” Award for going Above the Call of Duty
2014 - Black Employee Network (BEN) Person of the Year Award
2016 - Nike School Innovation Fund (NSIF) Executive Leader
Interests & Hobbies
International Travel
Basketball, Football, Track & Field
Burn Cycle
Taking pictures of nature
#mothersnature
70's, 80's, 90's Music
Peet's Coffee
Sparkling Rose
Art
&
Visiting Museums
Coaching
&
Mentoring
Reading Suspense, Mysteries and any book Oprah recommends
Recommendations
"Brandis constantly seeks new and creative solutions that answer consumer needs and wants."
Ron Wright, Jordan Footwear Design Director
Portland, OR
"She has a humility and calm, positive energy that has made her an effective leader."
Vanessa Wilkins, Nike North America Community Impact Director
Portland, OR
"Brandis is one of those people that makes others around her better and I can honestly say she has made me a better Designer and continues to do everytime we work together."
D'Wayne Edwards, Founder PENSOLE
Portland, OR