Kristopher Wright entered the footwear space by “happenstance.” Today, he is vice president at one of the world’s most well-known brands.

Wright took center stage at the “Dope Thinkers Only Conference,” which was held at Louisiana’s Grambling State University from Sept. 11-12. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the conference is intended to empower and connect students and professionals in marketing, communications, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

“Conferences like this are needed at HBCUs just to show students from actual practitioners: ‘I’m doing this, this is how I did it. And you can, too,'” student Jae Newton told AFROTECH™. The Houston native is projected to graduate in 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, a concentration in public relations, and a minor in business marketing.

At the conference, Wright shared that, as a 12-year-old raised in Harlem, NY, he was already exposed to sneaker culture. However, Wright did not understand then that his current leadership position in footwear and apparel was even possible.

“I didn’t realize that there were opportunities, that I could make a career for myself in this industry, coming from where I came from,” Wright told the audience at the “Dope Thinkers Only Conference” during a session titled “What Authenticity Is and Isn’t.”

“I think the most professional person I may have known was a gentleman who I saw coming out of the neighborhood with a suit, and he worked in a commercial bank. Everybody else I knew were essentially blue-collar workers, worked for the city, worked for the government, etc,” Wright continued.

Career Journey

Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Clark Atlanta University in 1998, according to his LinkedIn profile. He shared on the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America’s Youtube (FDRA) channel that during his junior year he searched the Whitepages and stumbled upon two companies with satellite offices in Atlanta: BMG Music Group and Reebok. He called to inquire if they had internships for school credit and landed interviews and offers at both. Ultimately, he chose Reebok.

The decision led to an eight-year career with the company, starting as a sales intern and working across brand marketing, sports marketing, and product. Wright was promoted to roles such as global marketing manager of sport fashion, sports marketing manager, and his final position as global PLM RBK music footwear (Jay-Z/50 Cent/Pharrell), his LinkedIn states.

Following his time at Reebok, Wright launched a luxury lifestyle footwear brand called Jhung Yuro in 2004. There, he served as its vice president of footwear from 2004-2011. Wright’s Linkedin notes that he grew the brand to $1.5 million in the first 12 months and eventually sold a 50% stake to Headgear Inc.

While Wright admitted at the “Dope Thinkers Only Conference” that he always wanted to be an entrepreneur, he cited an “economic downturn” as the reason for stepping away from Jhung Yuro in 2011.

“I did that for about six years, then got caught up in an economic downturn and realized that I still very much needed to be employed,” he said on the panel.

Jordan Brand

After Jhung Yuro, Wright transitioned to Nike, where he has remained for 14 years, per his LinkedIn. As of 2021, he is the vice president of Jordan Footwear, product and merchandising.

“Jordan Brand is the only brand that has a human being who literally is the logo for the brand. So there’s just a number of factors that you just have to take into consideration when you have the privilege, honor, and responsibility for leading arguably the most critical and important part of that brand, which is footwear,” Wright shared at the conference.

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, NBA great Michael Jordan signed with Nike in 1984, and the Air Jordan was released the following year. The partnership’s success led to the establishment of Jordan Brand, which began operating independently in 1997. Sportico reports that the brand has a $7 billion valuation as of 2024.

“Jordan is unique because we have these things I call icons, and we also have a multi-billion dollar franchise…When you talk about icons that can move hundreds of thousands of units or up to a million units at the velocity of sell-through that those models can move, at the gross profit margin that those models or icons can move, there’s nothing else in the industry that exists like that,” Wright shared at the “Dope Thinkers Only Conference.”

“Air Jordan 1 could be considered a brand. That’s how big it is,” he continued.

“When you think about culture, if you have icons in a franchise like that and you’re able to harness those things in a disciplined manner, your brand essentially can ride forever. Then it allows you to do the really special things, the new unique things that take consumers to new places. That requires being able to engage with not only consumers but athletes alike. And whether it’s Jordan or whether it’s Nike, our main focus is always to make our athletes better,” Wright added.