Dear Jacqueline…Growing up a Gen X, latchkey kid gives you the entrepreneurial foundation to fulfill your ambitions as a strong and caring brand leader in the footwear industry. For now, though, walking home alone from school to make yourself a sandwich, load your Kool-Aid with extra scoops of sugar, and sing your heart out to the pop tunes on KFRC while your single mom of three kids commutes to San Francisco to make ends meet is as real as it gets for a six-year-old.
As the youngest and only daughter, you’re regularly drafted into Wiffle Ball, basketball, catch, bike races, and pretty much anything your brothers want to play. Battling them day-in and day-out, you learn how to take a hard foul and push back. It’s ideal training ground because you’ll need mental and physical toughness to compete in a male-dominated industry led by alpha Shoe Dogs. You can connect, compete, and cope on that fast-paced playing field. Remember to thank your brothers for that.
Remember, also, that there’s no crying in baseball—or business. Play hard and don’t be afraid to take big swings, because you have the power to knock it out of the park. In 20 years, you’ll be honored in the inaugural class of an industry trade publication’s Top 40 Under 40 alongside Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos. That’s a store where you can shop any time, from anywhere, and buy pretty much any shoe you want. The world changes in amazing ways; you wouldn’t believe half of what I could tell you.
So just how did you get into the shoe biz? By chance, really. With a degree in Business Management looming, you get your act together by taking an internship just to have something relevant on your resume. The company is in your hometown. The job is in the marketing department. The president is a woman. Her entrepreneurial spirit is passionate and infectious. She’s on a mission to bring health and happiness to anyone she can reach through comfortable shoes. Like Mom, she’s strong, independent, inspiring, and incredibly kind. Her name is Margot Fraser. The brand is Birkenstock.
The internship is the start of a nearly 14-year run with the company. You rise the ranks to Brand Manager for two subsidiaries, Birki’s and Tatami, building a portfolio that inspires consumers at both ends of the market. Collaboration is key, and you find understanding the cultural relevance of consumer behavior incredibly intriguing, as well as a key to success. Bonus: You enjoy traveling throughout the United States and Europe. Life is good.
But then a call comes during a layover in Chicago. Your beautiful, red-headed brother has died in a climbing accident on Mt. Shasta on Sept. 12, 1999, at age 32. Initially, you are desperate to keep your family within arm’s reach. Life is no longer something to take for granted. Devastated, you somehow push forward. Two years later, your ob/gyn says your delivery date is Sept. 12, 2001. You cry. After much praying, you’re spared that date. Your daughter is born on Sept. 11, 2001. It’s a historic day, albeit for terrible reasons. Thousands of Americans are killed in a terrorist attack. The world is dark, but your daughter represents a ray of hope. A new beginning dawns, and you start the best job of your life: motherhood.
You manage both jobs well. You earn Business Week D&AD gold and silver medals for your work on Footprints, another sub-brand, in collaboration with Fuseproject. It’s ahead of its time but be proud of the product chops you earn and industry recognition. Then the time comes to take on a new challenge. As usual, you aim high and jump on a fast-paced growth train called Keen. You’re the category manager for lifestyle shoes. It’s a career- and life-altering move. The brand is less than two years old, and the team is disciplined, entrepreneurial, and dynamic. The captain is
Jim Van Dine. (Psst: He’s your future husband!) The place is electric! Your peers become like family. It’s all about brand integrity and respect for all. Keen quickly becomes a leading outdoor brand. Life is really good. But you’re a California girl at heart. When the company announces in early 2006 that it’s moving to Oregon, you wave goodbye.
You line up interviews with several major athletic brands, only to decide to go with your entrepreneurial spirit and cofound Ahnu with your former Keen team captain. You head up product, design/development, and marketing. Thanks to incredible relationships built at Keen, Ahnu gets off to a roaring start. Then, in late 2008, life throws a curve ball: The country’s banking system nearly collapses. An acquisition by Deckers Brands saves Ahnu. The capital infusion and manufacturing muscle lead the brand to new heights. The growth and promise aren’t enough, though. To some, Ahnu is just a business. The brand is taken in-house and, worse, put in the proverbial basement. The silver lining: reconnecting with Van Dine. You soon marry the love of your life and become the second JVD in the industry.
Careers often come full circle! You’re one of the people for whom that’s true. Birkenstock 2.0 begins in 2016. You’re VP of merchandising and product. David Kahan leads the beloved OG comfort brand in the Americas. The atmosphere resembles your start-up days. Birkenstock is on fire. I’m talking youth culture fire. The brand is at the forefront of a macro comfort lifestyle movement. You’re given a clean canvas, made of the fibers of your roots, to add to this tremendous, now 251-year brand legacy. It’s now going on nine years with your first brand love. You’re proud to help the team take Margot’s original vision to the next levels. Life is grand.
Gotta run. You’ve got this. Aim high, believe in yourself, work hard, push back, and you’ll become the little sister who could. Never forget: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” —Peter Drucker
