Wolverine Worldwide’s Merrell brand has hired Noreen Naroo-Pucci as chief product officer.
“As a global thinker and executive with multi-cultural experience, Naroo-Pucci will apply her skills to Merrell’s expansion as a lifestyle brand. Merrell’s strategic move into the lifestyle segment caters to the growing demand for versatile footwear that seamlessly transitions from outdoor adventures to everyday urban life. The brand is tapping into a trend where consumers seek products that support an active, outdoor-inspired lifestyle, even in their daily routines,” the company said in a media release.
Naroo-Pucci noted, “Merrell is a brand that understands the evolving outdoor space and is dedicated to building strong, purposeful footwear, and I am thrilled to work with the talented team to create innovative products to empower our consumers.”
Naroo-Pucci’s experience reportedly spans over thirty years of working in brand creative, including “design across performance and sports lifestyle products, brand creative and product storytelling, leading and building teams of world-class designers, and establishing conceptual direction and product development knowledge.”
“We’re excited to have Noreen join us,” said Merrell Global Brand President Janice Tennant. “From her depth of experience working globally across great brands, her passion for innovation and elevating design and a commitment to building high-performing teams, she is going to help us continue to modernize the brand in order to attract the next generation of outdoor consumers.”
Most recently, Naroo-Pucci was the CPO at Mizzen+Main, a young menswear brand. Her career includes working as the SVP of design, menswear, North America for Calvin Klein, and eleven years at Under Armour as senior creative director and VP of Global Design Engine.
“I’m eager to bring my passion for product to Merrell as I lead with vision and integrity as we bring style and functionality in everyday urban settings,” said Naroo-Pucci.
Naroo-Pucci has reportedly invested time in teaching at MICA at John Hopkins University, The New School at Parsons School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and served on two design school boards in inner-city Baltimore.
Images courtesy Merrell/Wolverine Worldwide
