Dr. Martens appoints former Burberry VP as Global Customer Director

Dr. Martens has appointed former Burberry Global Vice President Katie Morton as its new Global Customer Director.

Morton joins with more than two decades of experience spanning consumer, omnichannel and business transformation across fashion, luxury and retail, including 17 years at Burberry.

She was a founding member of Burberry’s digital team and held a number of senior global positions during her tenure at the luxury brand. Her most recent role at Burberry was Global Vice President, Online to Offline, where she led the luxury brand’s omnichannel strategy across five regions.

Most recently, Morton worked as an independent consultant, advising brands including Fortnum & Mason on consumer strategy, transformation and international growth. Morton will join Dr. Martens on 26 October and report to Chief Brand Officer Carla Murphy.

She will join the company’s leadership team and will be responsible for strengthening its consumer-first approach globally, with a focus on understanding customer needs and building relationships with consumers.

Her appointment follows recent senior leadership changes at Dr. Martens, including Isadora Versiani joining as Global Product Design Director and Nadia Svensson as Global Merchandising & Product Director.

The appointments form part of Dr. Martens’ “Levers for Growth” strategy, which entered its scale phase in FY27 following the company’s shift towards a consumer-first operating model.

In its full-year results in May, Dr. Martens said it had simplified its operating model and restructured its leadership teams as part of the move. The company also outlined plans for increased brand investment and selected retail store upgrades in FY27.

Dr. Martens reaffirmed its FY27 guidance in July, with trading in line with expectations. It also highlighted plans to increase full-price sales in the UK and DACH markets, launch a new sandals range and introduce new retail concepts in key cities.

In a Linkedin post, Morton said she is “so excited” to be joining Dr. Martens and “can’t wait to get started” working with Murphy and the team.

Carla Murphy, Chief Brand Officer, said Morton “brings a powerful combination of consumer insight, commercial expertise and deep experience leading transformation at scale” to the role.

She added that the appointment, alongside the recent product and brand leadership hires, would strengthen Dr. Martens’ ability to understand consumers and respond to their changing needs.

Dr. Martens operates in more than 60 countries and employs around 3,600 people. Its products are sold through direct-to-consumer retail and ecommerce channels, as well as wholesale partners.