Mollie Hansen

It seems appropriate that Mollie Hansen, director of visual and field marketing at adidas America, grew up in central Illinois playing all sorts of sports. “But it wasn't because I was good,” she says. “It was just due to the need for girls to play sports.”

A graduate of the University of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.) with a degree in human environmental science journalism and a minor in art, Hansen held stints in retail management before being hired by Nike to work for its visual merchandising program in Chicago.

“Ironically, when I graduated from college, I didn't even know this profession existed,” she says. “But my education was the right mix – a design background, as well as advertising and communication.”

Hansen worked for several years in Chicago for Nike, but fell in love with the Northwest, where she often visited on business. When the opportunity arose to move there and work for Columbia Sportswear Co., Hansen packed her bags and settled in Portland, Ore., where she now lives on a floating house (common to Portland, where they're called houseboats). Two years later, she got the chance again to start a visual merchandising program from the ground up – this time at adidas America, where she's been for the last six years.

As director of visual and field marketing, Hansen manages four teams that together create in-store programs at retail for adidas. She says the same lessons she learned playing sports as a child – how to get along and work with others – helped prepare her for the work she does today.

Loyalty is created when a consumer has a good interaction with the brand and becomes a purchaser. I believe “in-store” is where all your marketing efforts meet the consumer. So if we can make a brand message come to life on TV, at events, in print, in outdoor and at retail, then we have successfully integrated our campaign. That leads to recognition and, ultimately, sales.

Predicting retail trends and forming a creative vision is the part of my job that is really exciting. Much of retail is predictable, but there are those times when you can push the envelope and reinvent the retail experience. Give your consumers what they want before they knew they wanted it. Then you know you are making a difference.

When decisions take too much time and we are not able to react quickly enough to the needs of our consumers.

I believe in hard work, but also in being balanced. I burned out about 10 years ago and I think it was the best thing to ever happen to me. I needed perspective and I got it. So now when I start having those jitters, I know to step away and look at it differently. A quick trip to the ocean or just looking at the mountains can give me the right perspective.

My favorite sport would have to be water skiing, but sadly, I don't do enough of it. I thought that living on a houseboat would get me out on the water, but it hasn't. So I mostly hike because it is so accessible here.

A gymnast. Not only do they have beautiful physiques, but they are so graceful and strong. I can barely do a cartwheel, so I have always been in awe of those who could push their bodies and their will to fearless levels.

People who follow their dreams without fear. They did not let fear get in the way of accomplishing their goals. It might be just getting out of bed for some people or running an ultra marathon or motherhood for others. Those people inspire me to take risks.

I went to a Halloween party once where you had to come as either your worst fear or best-kept secret. I went as a beauty school dropout… I won't tell you whether that represented my secret or my fear.