Last week, Melanie Allen was working on plans for fall 2026. As the Chief Marketing Officer at Brooks Running, she's always thinking three steps (or, at least four seasons) ahead. In this week's episode, she's talking us through how she arrived to this role, and what it’s like to own her power as a leader and make decisions without “a safety net.” Plus: The important lessons she learned from her mother, what it was like to run her first half-marathon, and how she manages to tame negative self-talk.

SOCIAL

Melanie Allen on LinkedIn

⁠⁠⁠@emilyabbate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@hurdlepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

IN THIS EPISODE

(4:54) Melanie talks about her time working at Starbucks and how she was the mastermind behind the PSL marketing boom and making it a chilled offering

(7:40) Melanie talks about the decision to train for her first half-marathon because of her co-workers when her daughter was 5 years old

(18:34) Melanie talks about how it felt to take action once she transitioned into her role at Brooks, and no longer having a safety net to make important decisions

(21:55) Melanie talks about how she makes importance of having grace when making difficult decisions

(26:54) What balance looks like in practice for Melanie, plus takeaways from corporate development programming she did at P+G

(39:15) What it’s like for Melanie to own her mistakes and lead with compassion

(44:04) Melanie talks about what it was like to grow up with a deaf mother, and the lessons that relationship has taught her about tenacity

(48:15) How to move from managing at work to truly leading

(52:10) Some of the best career advice that Melanie has ever received

OFFERS

Brooks Running | Loving my new Glycerin 22, grab yourself a pair at BrooksRunning.com/

SEQUEL | Head to ⁠trysequel.com/⁠ and use HURDLE at checkout for 15% off a box of super

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