The performance running brand’s new footwear leadership position signals continued investment in product strategy following nine consecutive years of growth and a 16 percent revenue increase in 2025.
Brooks Running has brought in Claire Wood as its new Vice President for Footwear Product Strategy—a role created to tighten the link between the brand’s long-term ambitions and what actually lands on shelves.
Wood will lead teams across product management, merchandising and marketing. Her appointment comes as Brooks looks to capitalize on momentum: the Seattle-based brand posted 16 percent revenue growth in 2025, its ninth straight year of expansion.
A familiar face returns
Wood is no stranger to Brooks. She started out as a field marketing rep before becoming one of the company’s first Footwear Product Line Managers, where she played a key role in shaping the Brooks Ghost—now one of the world’s best-selling running shoes.
She left to spend more than a decade at New Balance, rising to Global Product Director for Performance Running. There, she worked directly with elite athletes to turn insights from the track into commercially viable products. Her most recent role was at SOREL, where as VP of Product Creation and Global Footwear, she led a multi-year overhaul aimed at raising the brand’s craft credentials and sharpening its premium positioning.
Bridging strategy and execution
Carson Caprara, Brooks’ Senior VP for Footwear and Apparel, said Wood’s hire addresses a clear need. “Claire brings exceptional clarity to how product strategy translates into meaningful runner experiences,” he said. “Her creative leadership and bold thinking will strengthen how we deliver cohesive, runner-focused footwear at scale.”
The emphasis is on joining the dots between vision, consumer understanding, and market execution—a capability Brooks sees as critical to staying ahead in a crowded performance footwear market. Wood’s CV spans product development, merchandising, and athlete partnerships, giving her what the brand describes as an integrated view of how shoes get made and sold.
Part of a broader push
Wood’s appointment is one of several changes Brooks is making across its footwear strategy and innovation functions. The company says it’s positioning itself “to win in 2026 and beyond” by deepening the connection between product vision, consumer insight, and R&D. Brooks, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, ended 2025 with global sales up 16 percent, extending a run of growth that stretches back nearly a decade.
