At Brooks Running’s global headquarters in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, Melanie Allen has what the kids call “street cred.”
Though serving as the Berkshire Hathaway-owned brand’s chief marketing officer for the past eight years, a role that would seemingly distance her from the company’s most intense shoe geek banter, Allen can talk the talk about novel foams, unique geometries or advanced manufacturing processes.
In fact, Allen’s scientifically astute mind, sharpened during her years as an MSU mechanical engineering student, has helped propel Brooks’ global rise.
“By understanding what makes our performance running footwear unique from a science and technology perspective, I’m able to then communicate that to consumers in a compelling way,” Allen said.
Admittedly, Allen never envisioned this pivot into marketing. The first in her family to attend college, Allen considered education and accounting as potential majors until her father encouraged engineering, seeing the field as a fitting home for his daughter’s analytical mind and hard-charging personality.
MSU empowered Allen’s evolution. In engineering courses, she honed her technical skills and ability to break down complex information. As Alpha Phi sorority’s party and event-planning social director, she developed soft skills like communication, creativity and adaptability—a unique prelude to her marketing career.
“Engineering can be intense and heavy, so the sorority offered great balance,” Allen said.
While an MSU undergraduate, Allen interned at Ford Motor Company’s climate control division, the group responsible for managing temperature and air quality in vehicle cabins. The experience fueled her interest in “building things for people, not machines” and spurred an ascendant career with consumer-facing enterprises.
Allen spent 14 years with Procter & Gamble, the corporate heavyweight behind household brands like Tide, Gillette and Old Spice. Initially charged with getting manufacturing machines running faster and longer, a role neatly aligned with her engineering education, she later moved into a research and development role with Pampers. There, as Allen worked on innovation plans and growth drivers for the diaper brand, an astute boss spotted her innate ability to connect products to consumers. He told Allen she was a marketer and placed her into brand marketing roles, where Allen learned to develop creative campaigns and steer a key business unit.
“The consumer focus I had allowed the creative side to come naturally,” she said.
Allen later moved to Seattle and joined Starbucks, where she worked on beverage innovation and seasonal promotions en route to becoming the coffee chain’s vice president of marketing.
Then, in 2017, Allen received a call about the chief marketing officer position at Brooks, one of Seattle’s other prominent corporate citizens. A fan of the brand—Allen wore Brooks when she completed her first half marathon a decade prior—Allen’s intrigue accelerated after Brooks leaders outlined their enterprising vision for the company.
“I was already in love with the brand. Then I fell in love with the team,” Allen said.
For the past eight years, Allen has played a prominent role in Brooks’ energizing climb. She’s delivered inspiring touchpoints with the brand, invigorating campaigns at retail and lively promotion of innovative products. Her efforts have sparked Brooks’ domestic standing and stimulated its international growth in markets like Germany, home to rivals Puma and Adidas, as well as China, the world’s second-largest running market. In 2024, the company’s global revenue reached $1.3 billion, its eighth consecutive year of sales growth.
“The greatest part of all is the purpose behind what we do,” Allen said. “Whether it’s someone walking to stay healthy or someone training for their first marathon, our product helps people and is a part of their daily lives.”
By: Daniel P. Smith