Shannon Watkins is Jordan Brand’s new chief marketing officer, succeeding Sean Tresvant, who has left to join Taco Bell as global chief brand officer. The former director of brand and marketing for U.S. insurance company Aflac Inc. will begin her duties on May 16. Watkins, who joined Aflac in 2018, was instrumental in the insurer’s partnership with ESPN’s College Gameday and a renewed focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Before Aflac, she spent eight and a half years in various leadership roles at Coca-Cola Company and before that in brand and marketing roles at various other food-related companies. Watkins will report to Jordan Brand president Craig Williams, who was also at Coca-Cola before joining Nike, and takes on the position at a pivotal time for the brand as purpose and culture remain at the forefront of its marketing efforts. Williams shifted Jordan Brand’s focus to the black community since the death of George Floyd in 2020. As a result, Jordan Brand sales increased to $4.7 billion (+30 percent) in 2021, making the brand instrumental in Nike’s post-pandemic resurgence.
