Edition #43
June 21, 2026
Welcome to The W Profile, a study of the women leading at the intersection of sports, media, and global business. As college athletics adopts professional structures, it is instructive to look to the visionaries who have already mastered the complexities of the corporate world. By bringing C-Suite lessons to the athletics community, this series will provide leaders with the insights necessary to build a lasting legacy.
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Introduction
When PUMA needed to eliminate the friction between how its products were created and how its global narrative was marketed, they turned to a leader who had already mastered the intersection of high fashion, consumer retail, and athletic performance. Maria Valdes, the Chief Brand Officer of PUMA, was elevated to the newly consolidated role in late 2025 to oversee an unprecedented restructuring that merged Product Creation, Innovation, Go-to-Market, and Brand Marketing under one unified vision.
She is responsible for overseeing massive business units including Sportstyle, Motorsport, Basketball, and Teamsport, while simultaneously directing the creative and cultural narrative of the global brand. Her leadership is defined by a rigorous commitment to operational consistency, a deep understanding of the modern "sports culture" aesthetic, and an overarching philosophy that a brand must tell fewer, more impactful stories rather than diluting its message in a crowded marketplace.
From Fast Fashion to Forever Faster
Valdes’ executive DNA was forged in the fast-paced, trend-driven worlds of global beauty and mass-market apparel. Before entering the sportswear industry, she honed her expertise in product development and marketing at powerhouse brands like L'Oréal and Inditex (the parent company of Zara). This foundational experience taught her how to anticipate consumer shifts and rapidly scale commercial trends.
She brought this unique, fashion-forward perspective to PUMA in 2010. Over the next decade, she quietly built her empire internally, serving as Global Senior Head of Product Line Management before taking over as General Manager of Sportstyle—PUMA’s largest and most culturally influential business unit. During her tenure in Sportstyle, she masterfully blended PUMA's vintage athletic heritage with modern streetwear trends. Her undeniable success in driving the brand's lifestyle revenue led to her appointment as Chief Product Officer in 2023, and ultimately to her current role as Chief Brand Officer, making her a vital voice on the company's global Management Board.
The PUMA Playbook
Valdes approaches global sportswear with a strategy that treats fashion, music, and athletic performance as a single, interconnected cultural ecosystem. Her playbook encompasses three critical pillars:
➤ Fewer Stories, Bigger Impact: Rather than allowing marketing and product design to operate in silos, Valdes champions a unified "Go-to-Market" strategy. By explicitly directing her teams to avoid market saturation and focus their institutional energy, she ensures the brand over-invests in key "must-win" areas like the iconic Classics (Suede, Clyde), NITRO running technology, and the expanding Women’s category.
➤ Curating 'Sports Culture': Valdes recognizes that the modern consumer doesn't cleanly separate athletic gear from daily lifestyle apparel. She actively leverages PUMA’s unique credibility in niche, high-engagement arenas like Formula 1, basketball, and breakdancing to cascade new dimensions—such as oversized fits and retro revivals—directly into the mainstream fashion space.
➤ Sustainability as a Baseline, Not a Bonus: She understands that modern brand equity requires authentic environmental accountability. Valdes oversees boundary-pushing initiatives like the RE:SUEDE project (an experiment in biodegradable footwear) and RE:FIBRE recycling, ensuring that sustainable practices and inclusive narratives are baked into the product line before the marketing team ever touches them.
Lessons on Boldness and Cultural Relevance
Valdes has built a career on the philosophy that a brand’s legacy is only valuable if it can be reinterpreted for the present moment. She operates with the belief that true cultural relevance requires aggressively partnering with external disruptors. Whether that means re-integrating global icons like Rihanna into the PUMA family or leveraging the exploding lifestyle popularity of Formula 1, she isn't afraid to let powerful external voices co-author the brand's aesthetic.
Crucially, her rise demonstrates the quiet power of internal, cross-functional mastery. While many modern executives job-hop to reach the C-suite, Valdes spent 15 years within PUMA deeply understanding its target consumer and operational pain points. Her success proves that the ultimate way to revolutionize a legacy brand is to know its internal machinery so intimately that you can restructure it without breaking its foundational DNA.
Takeaways
➤ Silence the Noise, Amplify the Impact: Valdes’ mandate to tell "fewer stories with bigger impact" is a masterclass in commercial focus. In an era of endless content, restraint and highly concentrated messaging often generate a higher ROI than constant, diluted product drops.
➤ Culture Cannot Be Siloed: By merging Product Creation, Innovation, and Brand Marketing into one unified pipeline, she proved that you cannot authentically market a cultural moment if the product wasn't designed with that specific cultural context in mind from day one.
➤ Leverage External Disruptors: Her strategy of aligning with massive cultural forces—from Rihanna's Fenty to global motorsport—demonstrates that legacy brands stay relevant by constantly inviting fresh, high-impact external perspectives into the design room.
➤ Patience and Proximity Yield Power: Her 15-year climb to the PUMA Management Board shows that executives who stay close to the actual product, mastering the core revenue drivers of the business from the ground up, are the ones best positioned to eventually write the brand's global narrative.
Read. Watch. Listen.
Read: Her expansive Q&A in PUMA's Annual Report, where she details her strategic vision for the brand, her mandate to execute "fewer, more impactful stories," and how her unique background influences her approach to the intersection of fashion and sports. (link)
Read: Coverage of PUMA’s return to New York Fashion Week under her product leadership, where she utilized the global stage to showcase the brand’s pinnacle "Select" line, successfully blending high-fashion collaborations with historic street culture roots. (link)
Read: In an interview with Sneaker Freaker, Valdes says PUMA is entering a new era focused on a more unified, consumer-centric structure that integrates product, marketing, innovation, and go-to-market under one strategy. (link)
Quote to Remember
On her philosophy for managing PUMA's massive global footprint and finding clarity amidst the noise of the sportswear industry:
It's important that we tell fewer stories, but ensure that these fewer stories have a bigger impact. … The potential of the PUMA brand is huge. We have a unique and strong DNA, our strength is our people, and we have the amazing opportunity to work with different ambassadors, athletes and federations all around the world to push sports and culture forwards.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Morgan Cato – EVP of Player Operations, National Basketball Players Association
Publication Date: Sunday, June 14
Emily Prazer – Chief Commercial Officer, Formula 1
Publication Date: Sunday, June 14
Cindy Parlow Cone – President, United States Soccer Federation
Publication Date: Wednesday, June 10
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Positions featured here are also posted on the comprehensive CollegeSports.jobs site and are open to all qualified candidates. W Jobs exists to expand awareness, not define who a role is for, because every job in college athletics should be accessible to women. Employers choose to amplify their postings through W Jobs to reach a broader audience and demonstrate their commitment to equitable access to opportunity.
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(Posted from most recent over the last 15 days)
(NEW!) Diving Coach (Florida International University / Miami, FL): Provides assistance to the Head Coach with activities associated with the Swimming & Diving program and student athletes, including recruitment, monitoring academic performance and social development. More details HERE.
(NEW!) Assistant Athletic Trainer (Florida International University / Miami, FL): Florida International University's Athletics Department is seeking an Athletic Trainer to support the health, safety, and performance of student-athletes. More details HERE.
(NEW!) Assistant Coach, Women's Lacrosse (Kennesaw State University / Kennesaw, GA): Assists with coaching, recruiting, scheduling, budgeting, fundraising, player development, academic support & administrative duties while ensuring compliance with KSU, NCAA & conference regulations. More details HERE.
(NEW!) Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach (Florida International University / Miami, FL): Enhances the physical and mental development of student-athletes through the establishment of specific training programs and activities to increase the performance of student-athletes. More details HERE.
(NEW!) Sr. Assoc. AD for Revenue Generation (Southern Methodist University – SMU / Dallas, TX): The Senior Associate A.D. for Revenue Generation will assist with the implementation and execution of key strategic revenue generation initiatives across the department. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Dallas? Click HERE.
(NEW!) Director, Wrestling Operations (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Manage internal team operations and logistics: team travel, team meals, on-campus recruiting, and off-campus recruiting for coaching staff. Support external efforts: designing social media strategy. More details HERE.
(NEW!) Director of Sports Communication (SUNY New Paltz / New Paltz, NY): Oversees all facets of athletics communications including media relations, digital strategy, website management, social media, branding, game-day operations, including live stats and event coverage. More details HERE.
Athletics Mental Health and Performance Counselor (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Help Arizona student-athletes thrive. Lead mental health care, performance psychology, and wellness initiatives while shaping a championship-focused culture of growth, resilience, and success. More details HERE.
Director, Business Office, Accountant (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Focused on accounts payable, purchase orders, cash & travel advances, month end close, audits, United States Military Academy (“USMA”) and related party transactions and vendor payment processing More details HERE.
Associate Director, Development (Athletics) (Kennesaw State University / Kennesaw, GA): Join the team at Kennesaw State University and become part of a supportive and thriving community. More details HERE.
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Coaching Cadet-athletes, recruiting, monitoring Cadet-athletes’ academic progress, scheduling, managing travel, overseeing the discipline and conduct of the Cadet-athletes. More details HERE.
Assistant Coach - Baseball (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): The Assistant Coach is responsible for specifically designated aspects of the sport, exercises independent judgment in providing technical expertise in the fundamentals of the sport. More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Athletic Counseling (Oregon State University / Corvallis, OR): Provide strategic leadership for academic counseling, supervising a team of academic counselors across all sports. Responsible for establishing, maintaining, and promoting best practices. More details HERE.
Assistant Manager of Facility Events and Rentals (Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT / Cambridge, MA): Working in conjunction with students, coaches, faculty, and staff, provides management for the evening and weekend operations of facilities with a focus on managing and supervising athletic events. More details HERE.
Vice President of Athletics (Baker University / Baldwin City, KS): Seeking a high-energy leader committed to competitive excellence, student-athlete success, and advancing the University’s values of integrity, service, innovation, and community. More details HERE.
Senior Director/Director of Athletic Business & Finance - Business & Finance (University Athletic Association, Inc. at the University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): Perform and manage services for the UAA Business & Finance office. Oversee the monthly/quarterly/annual UAA required financial statements and reporting. More details HERE.
Director, Athletics Fields (Kennesaw State University / Kennesaw, GA): Responsible for leading athletic field operations, turf maintenance, staff, budgets, and vendors to ensure safe, high-quality, NCAA-compliant playing surfaces for athletics and special events. More details HERE.
Deputy Athletics Director, Internal Operations (Towson University / Towson, MD): This position provides oversight of internal operations, student-athlete development initiatives, departmental policy and compliance functions, conference and NCAA reporting. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Towson? Click HERE.
Tyler Family Endowed Director of Student-Athlete Development (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Empower Wildcats beyond competition. Lead career readiness, leadership development, and life skills initiatives that prepare student-athletes for success in college and beyond sport. More details HERE.
Hockey Equipment Manager (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Manages all equipment operations for the Division I Men's Ice Hockey program -procuring, maintaining, and overseeing uniforms, equipment, and gear for athletes, coaches, and support staff. More details HERE.
Financial Analysis, Manager II (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Drive financial strategy for Arizona Athletics by leading complex reporting, data analysis, benchmarking, and forecasting to support informed decision-making and organizational success. More details HERE.
Nutritionist (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Help fuel championship performance by delivering expert sports nutrition counseling, education, and meal planning to support the health, wellness, and success of Arizona student-athletes. More details HERE.
Assistant Director, Ticket Operations (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): Support the Wildcat fan experience by managing ticket operations for assigned sports, overseeing event-day box office functions, and delivering exceptional customer service. More details HERE.
Associate Director, Ticketing (University of Notre Dame / Notre Dame, IN): Part of a dynamic ticket office team - primary responsibility for a reserved seating sport while helping shape and elevate the overall ticketing strategy. More details HERE.
Associate General Counsel (Athletics) (Vanderbilt University / Nashville, TN): Vanderbilt University is seeking an Associate General Counsel to join the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and provide legal advice to Vanderbilt University Athletics. More details HERE.
Head Baseball Coach (University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma / Chickasha, OK): Head coach responsible for recruiting, coaching, player development, program administration, and compliance with NAIA, conference, and university regulations. More details HERE.
Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director, Administration & Risk (University of Southern California / Los Angeles, CA): USC seeks a collaborative Exec. Sr. Assoc. AD, Administration & Risk to oversee legal affairs, organizational strategy and risk management to help guide one of the nation's premier athletics programs More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Los Angeles? Click HERE.
Head Women's Golf Coach (Methodist University / Fayetteville, NC): The head coach will be responsible for the leadership and organization of a competitive women’s golf program that has had tremendous success winning 26 NCAA Division III Team National Championships. More details HERE.
Assistant Women's Tennis Coach (Part-time) - Intercollegiate Athletics (Duquesne University / Pittsburgh, PA): Under the general direction of the Director of Tennis, the Asst. Women’s Tennis Coach is responsible for supervising, planning, and coordinating the activities of the women’s tennis program. More details HERE.
Assistant AD, Business Office, Senior Accountant (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Active role in financial reporting & analysis, budgeting, audits, accounts payable, credit card reconciliations and staff supervision. More details HERE.
Assistant Men's Gymnastics Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Coaching, recruiting, monitoring Cadet-athletes’ academic progress, scheduling, managing travel, overseeing the discipline and conduct of the Cadet-athletes. More details HERE.
Assistant Men's Ice Hockey Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Coaching Cadet-athletes, season planning, recruiting, logistics, scheduling, managing travel, and managing the team’s budget including purchasing. More details HERE.
Assistant/Associate Head Men's Rugby Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Coaching, recruiting, monitoring Cadet-athletes’ academic progress, scheduling, managing travel, overseeing the discipline and conduct of the Cadet-athletes. More details HERE.
Assistant Baseball Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Coaching, recruiting, monitoring Cadet-athletes’ academic progress, scheduling, managing travel, overseeing the discipline and conduct of the Cadet-athletes. More details HERE.
Football Equipment Manager (Florida International University / Miami, FL): Manages the procedures for the storage, maintenance, repair, and inventory control of all equipment apparel, and field equipment for the football team. More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications (Juniata College / Huntingdon, PA): Launch your career in athletic communications by creating digital content, supporting live events, managing gameday production, and promoting student-athlete stories in a hands-on role. More details HERE.
Sport Performance Coach-Intern (Juniata College / Huntingdon, PA): Start your sport performance career with hands-on experience designing training programs, supporting student-athletes, and building coaching skills in a collaborative athletics setting. More details HERE.
Strength & Conditioning Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Directly supervise the performance training program of Olympic sports assigned teams - contributing to the wellness of cadet-athletes, assisting cadet-athletes in optimizing competitive performance. More details HERE.
Head Coach Softball (Florida International University / Miami, FL): Provides overall leadership for the Softball program. More details HERE.
Director/Sport Services & Student-Athlete Engagement (NEC / Bridgewater, NJ): The Director will play a key role in the organization and oversight of NEC Championship events and NEC SAAC and academic groups. More details HERE.
Seasonal Assistant Volleyball Coach (Army West Point / West Point, NY): Coaching Cadet-athletes, recruiting, monitoring Cadet-athletes’ academic progress, scheduling, managing travel, overseeing the discipline and conduct of the Cadet-athletes. More details HERE.
Part-Time Administrative Assistant (University of Notre Dame / Notre Dame, IN): This part-time role provides support for the day-to-day operations of the football program, with a primary focus on serving as the front desk and first point of contact for the football facility. More details HERE.
Head Men's and Women's Wrestling Coach (Juniata College / Huntingdon, PA): Lead and build a new wrestling program by recruiting and developing student-athletes, shaping team culture, managing operations, and creating a championship-focused experience. More details HERE.
Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach - Men's Basketball (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): To assist the men’s basketball and men’s golf programs with proper training and conditioning of student athletes. This position will help with overall performance of the student athletes. More details HERE.
Head Men's Volleyball Coach (Loras College / Dubuque, IA): Oversee all aspects of the volleyball program. More details HERE.
Assistant Coach - Swimming & Diving (University Athletic Association, Inc. at the University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): Provide direct and independent coaching of student-athletes who compete in D1, NCAA Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving for UF. Promote academic excellence. Assess/recruit prospective student-athletes. More details HERE.
Director of Creative Services (College Sports Communicators / Remote, US): This role will create engaging digital, social, print and other content that will drive engagement and elevate the CSC national association brand, its members, and the Academic All-America® program. More details HERE.
Assistant Athletic Trainer (Florida International University / Miami, FL): Assists Head Athletic Trainer in a manner that provides for competent and complete medical care for all student athletes participating in sports in Intercollegiate Athletics. More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Marketing - Marketing & Promotions (University Athletic Association, Inc. at the University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): Create comprehensive marketing plans with focus on ticket sales, attendance driving initiatives, fan experience enhancement strategies, and brand awareness. More details HERE.
Academic Advisor (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): The Academic Advisor-Athletics assists in the development and coordination of academic assistance programs designed to enable student-athletes to receive appropriate and timely academic assistance. More details HERE.
Assistant Coach -Softball (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): To assist the softball program with day to day operations that include recruiting, academic assistance, individual workouts, scouting, practice, official and unofficial visits, etc. More details HERE.