Why Nike's Lauren Gallo puts community first

As senior director, brand marketing creative at Nike, Lauren Gallo, 35, spent the past year developing marketing campaigns around Billie Eilish’s Air Force 1 collab, a Megan Thee Stallion partnership celebrating the athleticism of the rap star’s life as a performer and another embracing dance as sport. What ties such efforts together are “the thread of making an impact on communities and making sport a daily habit,” Gallo said.

For Gallo, building community has been central to her work since her first major gig more than a decade ago, helping to build the brand of private members club Soho House. That theme remained crucial when she made her first stop at Nike leading global digital marketing for women in 2012, after which she moved to Apple to work on the “Today at Apple” retail program and then became global head of content marketing at Snapchat.  

“The first thing to understand about successfully branding your business is that a great brand is based on a deep connection,” Gallo said.

Now back at Nike for her second tour, “my entire career and how I live my life has been about how to foster a sense of connection and belonging,” Gallo observed. “At the end of the day, it’s how you make people feel. There are always going to be amazing campaigns and great products, but [what matters is] how you root the brand not only in delivering a powerful message but as an act of bringing people together to make a positive impact.”

If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Maya Angelou. She was a hero with incredible courage, perseverance and deep intelligence. She took on so many roles in her life—she was a writer, poet, filmmaker, actor, dancer, civil rights activist and much more. Maya Angelou taught us to live passionately and commit to something to make a difference. 

What are the top two social media sites you use on a regular basis?

Twitter and Instagram.

What’s currently on your bedside reading list?

“The Mindful Athlete” by George Mumford, “Atlas of the Heart” by Brene Brown, “The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything” by Matthew Ball and “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear.

What was the last show you binge-watched? 

“The Bear” on Hulu.

 At what age do you hope to retire?

I don’t really have a desire to truly retire. I will likely always want to continue to work, to see and to add value to the lives of others.