Patrick Walsh is currently vice president of commercial Growth and Transformation at Foot Locker Inc. In this role, Walsh is a strategist and adviser to the global company. He is also responsible for managing and driving impact for Foot Locker Inc.’s Leading Education & Economic Development (LEED) initiative, which is creating a $200 million commitment to support the Black community over the next five years.
How did you get into the sneaker business?
I was birthed in the sneaker culture, born and raised in New York City. I understood sneaker culture and can’t believe that I’m actually able to make a living in it. I bring that up, because on a personal side, I walk with a sense of an obligation. With this blessing to be able to do what I do, how can I use a platform to do more? So, I’m happy we get a chance to connect and talk about overall Footlocker Inc.’s initiative, which we call LEED.
How are you doing more for the culture?
A little more than a year and a half ago, back in June of last year, we made the announcement that we [were] going to commit $200 million over a five -ear period, to the Black community. It is a focus on education and economic empowerment. Now, it’s gonna be both internally within our company and our employees to support them, but also externally globally, in the communities that we serve. I’m fortunate along with my day to day job of being the vice president of commercial growth and transformation to be able to be the the corporate sponsor of our lead initiative.
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