Joshua McLindsay is currently a Senior Assortment Planning Manager for Nike.com, helping to manage one of the largest growing categories in the company. As an Assortment Planner, Josh's responsibilities are more than statistical forecasting and data science, but also understanding the consumer needs of today while strategically analyzing the market potential and resources needed to support our consumers needs up to 3 years in the future. Whether it's meeting LeBron James on the first day at Nike, bumping into Gary Payton and Ken Griffey Jr. at the campus store, getting in a track workout with Nike's USA Olympians, shooting baskets with Ray Allen, or sitting in meetings with Carmelo Anthony and Michael Jordan....Nike is a truly unique atmosphere to work in.

But, this is not the end of the story, or the beginning. Josh was born and raised in a small town of Rock Falls, IL and never dreamed of working at one of the most recognizable brands in the world, let alone be the first one in his family to go to College. He spent his childhood years playing basketball and helping at the family business after school and on weekends, at a local flower shop by the name of Behrens Flower Shed. When he was 16, his family moved closer to Chicago for his father's promotion at Motorola. It wasn't until a sports injury sidelined his dreams of getting a college scholarship, that changed his path into earning work/study credits towards graduation by working at the local mall.

Leaders and mentors seem to come right when you need them, although they aren't always clear to us in the moment. Josh went to the mall seeking a job at The Gap just to earn credits to graduate (and maybe pocket some gas money), but ended up getting much more in return. As it turns out, working at the Flower Shop when he was a kid ingrained in him a work ethic, attention to details on store merchandising, and an entrepreneurship for growing a business. At the age of 16, it was not apparent to Josh at the time, but his first ever mentor and boss noticed it right away. She could see what talents he possessed and how to best utilize those talents to provide him direction on a path to success in retail.

Although it wasn't a straight line from that small Gap store in Illinois to the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon; the lessons he learned along the way have shaped his view on being a leader today by the degree he chose, the companies he's worked for and the future direction of his career. What's next? Josh has a 10 year plan to be a Vice President at Nike as well as sit at the boards of non-profit organization as well as a clean energy company to aid in guiding the next generation of leaders.