Murphy will join Dr Martens as Chief Brand Officer on 1 July 2025, based in London. In this role, she will oversee global product, brand strategy, marketing, and sustainability, and will also become a member of the company’s global leadership team.
Dr Martens appoints former Adidas exec as Chief Brand Officer
Sophie Smith
29 May 2025
British footwear brand Dr Martens has appointed Carla Murphy as its new Chief Brand Officer, responsible for driving its brand strategy, vision and creative direction.
With more than 20 years of brand building and enterprise management experience, Murphy brings expertise from multiple industries, channels and categories across footwear and apparel.
She joins the brand from Adidas AG, where she served as Senior Vice President & Global General Manager for Adidas Outdoor.
In this role, Murphy was responsible for the end-to-end strategy, management and execution globally for its outdoor category.
Prior to this, she was Global Chief Brand & Product Officer for lifestyle merino brand icebreaker, part of VF Corporation, and has held senior brand and product positions at Amer Sports Group.
Ije Nwokorie, Chief Executive Officer of Dr Martens, said: "Carla is an exceptional leader with a proven track record for using bold storytelling and fearless creativity to drive growth for world-renowned brands, and she will do amazing work with our immensely talented brand and creative teams at Dr Martens."
Carla Murphy, newly appointed Chief Brand Officer at Dr Martens, added: "Dr Martens is an incredibly iconic brand, steeped in decades of creativity, individualism and self-expression. It has cultivated a passionate community and a devoted loyal consumer base, which I have long admired.
"Joining the team and the brand at this moment is incredibly exciting, the ambition and energy is high, and there is a tremendous opportunity in this next chapter to break new ground and connect with an even wider audience in a truly meaningful and culturally relevant way. I can’t wait to get started."
Murphy’s appointment follows a series of senior hires designed to strengthen Dr Martens’ brand, product, and creative teams.
These include Neil Cummings, Creative Director for Global Brand Studio, Emma Howarth, Category Director, Adam Owen, Global Design Director, and Paul Bowyer, Global Brand Marketing Director.
Earlier this week, Dr Martens also named Paul Zadoff as its new President for the Americas to help accelerate growth in the region.
