Why Puma Chief Product Officer Maria Valdes Believes Leading With Empathy Is Critical to Success

Record sales for the brand in 2022 and a promotion are certainly things to be proud of, but Puma veteran Maria Valdes is most impressed with how the athletic giant has responded to adversity. “Puma continued to perform, but probably more important, the strength of the team feels stronger than ever. I am really honored to be a part of that,” said Valdes, who was elevated to chief product officer in December 2022. Valdes, who was the GM of Sportstyle prior to the promotion, said she led her most recent team of more than 250 people across five locations and 37 nationalities through a bevy of challenges, such as COVID, war, inflation and more. She said leading with empathy has been critical to her success. “I faced a new challenge almost every day that I will admit has not been easy,” she said. “But I understand that taking care of our team members and always doing the right thing will pay dividends in the long-term.” These challenges have led her to build stronger, more meaningful relationships with her team and a greater emphasis on understanding who they are, figuring out what is going on in their lives and what it takes to motivate them. “And I always

Follow Footwear News on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

from Footwear NewsFootwear News https://ift.tt/9IvhFNT