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Mary Beth Laughton and Janice Tennant on embracing change, driving innovation and navigating transformation. The heads of REI and Merrell shared insights on leveraging nonlinear career paths and navigating leadership with clarity during tough retail challenges. September 17, 2026, 3:28pm In a conversation presented by Wolverine Worldwide, Mary Beth Laughton, president and chief executive officer of REI, and Janice Tennant, global brand president of Merrell, sat down at WWD's 2026 Women in Power Summit with Nikara Johns, social media director of Fairchild Media Group, to discuss the duo's nonlinear career paths and what they've learned in previous roles to bring about change and evolve their respective companies as leaders today. Tennant started her career on the beverage side, with Tropicana, and then moved on to Quaker and diapers before she made her way into the footwear realm. One of the most pivotal points of Tennant's career was when she was forced into an innovation role, which informed how she approached other opportunities that came her way thereafter. Tennant is always looking at whether there's a way to "innovate in the sector" she's in, not "just products but also the process and systems used." You may also like. Meanwhile, Laughton noted that the most pivotal moments in her career have been "saying yes to opportunities I didn't feel ready for." While she was at Nike, she was asked to lead the digital business in Europe as her first big general management role. Although she had many personal reasons to say no, she agreed to it. She garnered a leadership skill set and it gave Laughton the confidence to say yes to more things, including her subsequent first board role and chief executive officer positions. "What I've learned is that the confidence and the comfort can come later," Laughton said. "It doesn't always come before you take the role." While Laughton was working at Sephora more than a decade ago, she saw an opportunity to merge the worlds of stores and digital when the head of stores was retiring - she approached the CEO and asked to take over both. Over the years, she's pitched herself for new and evolving roles in response to the marketplace three or four times over her career. "I realized in the journey as I've advanced in my career that it's really important to not get too fixated on that there's one way to do things," explained Tennant. "The marketplace changes - and that's gonna change the type of roles and the opportunities that you need and your team needs." One example of this at Merrell was when the company realized the pace of the marketplace was rapidly changing around consumer engagement, so the team built an in-house agency team to respond in real time. Looking at the commonalities between the major household names of Nike, Pepsi and Sephora where Laughton has worked, she said they were all "customer-driven, customer-centric brands" and all have a "passionate consumer base that is emotionally connected to the brands" - which she brings to her current position at REI. Speaking about past experiences to inform how the two use their voice when advocating for change and a new direction, Tennant shared that people are always looking for clarity, especially when change occurs. Laughton concurred; at REI's first all-employee meeting, she showed a slide of REI's profit trend over the last 10 years - which she said the company hasn't had that level of transparency in recent times. This laid the groundwork for the change Laughton was looking to implement. "Mary Beth and I talked about the fact that we came in at difficult times in our organizations where things weren't really pretty. Having some clarity is really critical and it's also really important as women for us to bring that voice because sometimes we bring a different texture and perspective that helps to drive a different sort of energy towards the goal that you're trying to go for," Tennant concluded. Daily Headlines

Wolverine Worldwide reported second quarter revenue of $506.4 million, beating analyst estimates of $502 million. The footwear company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.40, topping expectations of $0.38. CEO Chris Hufnagel credited the performance to continued investment in core brands Merrell and Saucony, which both delivered double-digit revenue gains and captured market share in key categories. The company's strategic marketing and community activations drove growth across international markets. Management raised full-year guidance, lifting the revenue outlook to $1.99 billion at the midpoint from $1.97 billion. Adjusted EPS guidance increased 6.3% to $1.60 at the midpoint. During the earnings call, analysts probed the sustainability of brand momentum and competitive positioning in running. Hufnagel expressed confidence in Saucony's prospects, citing a strong product pipeline and broad-based global growth.

Wolverine Worldwide raises 2026 outlook as Q2 beats expectations. Wolverine Worldwide has lifted its fiscal 2026 (FY26) outlook after reporting a stronger-than-expected second quarter (Q2), with Merrell and Saucony driving sales gains. Wolverine Worldwide reported $506.4m in total revenue, a 6.8% increase compared to Q2 2025. Steady demand for its core brands Merrell and Saucony offset weakness in its Sweaty Betty business. Wolverine Worldwide's Active Group segment, which includes both Merrell and Saucony, climbed 9.3% in Q2. Merrell posted an 11.1% year-on-year rise to $175.5m, while Saucony grew 9.9% to $158.6m. In contrast, Sweaty Betty sales declined 2.4% to $40.3m. Wolverine Worldwide president and CEO Chris Hufnagel said: "Its team delivered another good quarter, ahead of its expectations - led again by Merrell and Saucony - along with more progress in Sweaty Betty and Wolverine. "We're executing our strategies, elevating our brands, and driving consistent, profitable growth. Based on our strong start to the year and the progress we're seeing across the business, we're raising our outlook for 2026." Highlights from Wolverine Worldwide's second quarter results. Over the quarter, Wolverine Worldwide saw its gross profit reach $235.3m, with a gross margin of 46.5%. However, this margin was down from 47.2% in 2025, a decline the company linked to ongoing US tariffs and increased shipping costs. This was partially offset by price adjustments and other tariff mitigation initiatives. Despite these pressures, operating margin increased to 9.3%, which Wolverine Worldwide attributed to disciplined cost controls. As of July 4, 2026, the company's inventory levels reduced by 17.0% to $269m, and net debt fell by 22.0% to $443m. In the year-to-date, Wolverine Worldwide recorded an 8.7% increase in total revenue to $964m and net income rose 32.1% to $51.4m. The company management cited "double-digit wholesale momentum in the Active Group" as a key growth driver. Outlook for FY26. Wolverine Worldwide has updated its full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting revenue of $1.98bn to $2.00bn, representing growth between 5.6% and 6.7% over 2025. This compares to its previous outlook of $1.96bn to $1.985bn. Gross margin is expected to be approximately 46.9%, down slightly from 2025, while operating margin should improve to about 9.5%. Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights.