‘Charting a new course’: How Brooks Running’s first chief product officer aims to accelerate the brand’s growth

Q&A // March 25, 2026 ‘Charting a new course’: How Brooks Running’s first chief product officer aims to accelerate the brand’s growth By Julia Waldow Brooks Running Carson Caprara is used to thinking on a season-by-season basis, as a long-time executive at Brooks Running.

Now, in his new role as the brand’s first-ever chief product officer, he’s thinking a decade ahead. It’s a notable shift, Caprara told Modern Retail, but one he’s ready to tackle as the brand focuses on the long term in its 112th year. “We want to start looking at our product [as] led by a brand and a consumer vision,” he said.

Caprara, who started with Brooks Running in 2005 as a field marketing representative, assumed his new position in March. He most recently served as the brand’s svp of footwear and apparel. In a statement, Dan Sheridan, the CEO of Brooks Running, said that Caprara brings “exceptional clarity” to product development.

His role “reflects both the scale of our ambition and the strength of Carson’s leadership, as we expand our product lines and accelerate our global growth,” Sheridan continued. Caprara’s appointment is part of a larger executive switch-up at the Seattle-based company, which is looking to grow market share amid competition from players like Hoka, On and Nike.

Also in March, Brooks promoted Mike Billish to the newly-created role of svp and gm of the Americas, and it updated CMO Melanie Allen’s responsibilities to have more of a global focus. A month ago, Brooks named former New Balance executive Claire Wood its vp of footwear product strategy.

Even as it fends off competition, Brooks has stayed on an upward trajectory. 2025 marked its ninth consecutive year of growth, with sales up 16% year over year, per a press release. (Brooks did not disclose exact revenue statistics.) Last year, 10 Brooks footwear styles posted year‑over‑year revenue growth of 20% or more, the brand said.

In the fourth quarter, Brooks became the No. 1 performance-running footwear brand at U. S. specialty retail, according to insights firm Upper Quadrant. While Brooks also sells apparel, the majority of its business traces back to footwear.

Brooks launched in 1914 as a ballet shoe and bathing shoe company; it then went into baseball cleats, roller skates and football cleats before pivoting to running in the 1970s. One of its latest running shoe products, the Glycerin Flex, launched in February 2026.

The company is particularly eager to grow its business in China, where sales jumped 245% year over year in 2025. As chief product officer, Caprara is focused on developing innovative footwear and apparel that speak to runners’ needs and pain points.

Caprara spoke with Modern Retail about his plans for the business as Brooks Running aims to hit 10 consecutive years of growth and expand its global footprint. The excerpts below have been edited for length and clarity. What exactly does a chief product officer do, at Brooks? “We’re charting a bit of a new course, which is great.

I brought apparel under me about halfway through the year [under my previous position]. [But that had] been pretty siloed for a long time. The apparel industry [has] a different supply chain and different lead times [than footwear], and I think that created some of the divide, in general.

Brooks had been such a heavily footwear-focused brand that it was really hard to think about, with different leadership, having the experience to do both. … We want to start looking at our product [as] led by a brand and a consumer vision.

I think, [over] the last five years, product was more driving the vision, and marketing and brand were [getting] plugged in downstream. And our vision is bigger than that. What do we want to innovate in the sport? Where do we want to take the sport? How do we want to grow the sport?

Those are the types of opportunities that we want to solve at a five- to 10-year vision. This role is going to allow me to get up there.” You’ve been at Brooks for more than 20 years. What stands out to you about the brand’s evolution over that period? “What hasn’t changed is that the consumer and running have been at the center of everything we do.

That’s what inspired me to come here in the first place, and why I’ve stayed. We’ve had many opportunities to expand out from that. But we just continue to see opportunity in run [and] creating through product and storytelling. There are still so many people who don’t run that we’re inspired to bring into the sport.

And then [for] people that are running, [we want] to keep them running and keep them healthy. The biggest risk in the industry is injuries, so that’s been an obsession. What’s been amazing, for me, is our journey through this obsession and how we’re abl