Last fall, Kitty Bolinger was promoted to president of Dansko, taking over leadership of the West Grove, Pa.-based footwear brand from chief executive officer Jim Fox. The change marked a return to form for Dansko, which was led for decades by co-founder Mandy Cabot (who is still a board director).
As she steers the female-founded company, Bolinger is aided by a team of women, including chief financial officer Jamey Mullin, vice president of design Kelsey Jayne-Gomez, vice president of marketing Christina Sewell and vice president of sourcing Susan Li.
Bolinger said that is an essential part of her strategy. “The women in this industry I admire — Mandy Cabot, Michelle Poole [at Crocs], Ayelet Levy [at Naot], to name a few — are master team builders,” she said. “A strong sense of self is important [in business], but your squad will enable you to achieve so much more. Working with people who are smarter and more creative than you is a badge of honor.”
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Bolinger’s career has also been shaped by some hard lessons learned at previous companies. “I experienced various leadership styles and discovered that I was naïve to assume that all successful leaders were respectful and kind,” she said. That helped shape her decision to join Dansko in 2010. “I had to prioritize those attributes as I was considering where I wanted to spend the rest of my career.”
As she reflects on her accomplishments so far, though, Bolinger turns her focus to family. “I am most proud of my children,” she said. “In addition to being amazing, hard-working adults, they have been my loudest cheerleaders and rarely made me feel that working outside of the home compromised their happiness.”
A version of this article appeared in the June 3 print issue of FN, as part of the “Women Who Rock” special section. On June 5, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation honored these women at a live event in New York City.
