Denise Kaigler

1962—

Executive

Denise Kaigler is the embodiment of the American Dream. Reared in a single-parent home and plagued by poverty through college, Kaigler worked hard to succeed. She had no choice. With no one to fall back on financially, Kaigler had to rely on herself. She put herself through college by working two jobs. From there, through hard work, determination, and integrity, she moved up to become one of the most powerful people—black or white, male or female—in the billion-dollar sportswear industry. Though much press has been given to the fact that Kaigler is an African-American woman in a boardroom composed mainly of white men, she has admitted to very few incidents where she felt discriminated against due to her sex or skin color. She told the Black Sports Network, "If my race or my gender puts me in a position to standout, if those things called for me to run faster, talk louder and work harder, then it's never been a burden."

Learned to Overcome Adversity

Born Denise Moore in Huntington, West Virginia, on June 26, 1962, Kaigler was raised with her two sisters in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Washington, D.C., by her single mother, Diane Moore. Although Diane Moore struggled financially, she offered her children steadfast emotional and mental support. Moore also served as a good role model for her children; she managed to earn a 1978 fellowship to MIT and eventually landed a job with NASA. Kaigler drew inspiration from her mother's determination in the face of hardship. After graduating from Laurel High School in Laurel, Maryland, Kaigler headed to Boston with a dream of graduating from Emerson College, a prestigious communication arts school.

After being admitted to Emerson, Kaigler made some financial missteps, including choosing to live in on-campus housing. "That was foolish of me because it was too expensive, but I wanted to feel the experience of being around my peers and classmates," Kaigler told the Los Angeles Sentinel. Although she had worked part-time in the Dean's office and at Filene's department store, she was unable to pay an outstanding university bill and faced expulsion. She appealed fruitlessly to the mercy of the administrators. "Even though my grades were good, they said ‘no way,’" she recalled to the Black Sports Network. To pay the bill, she took on additional work. She earned enough to pay the bill by working three part-time jobs and went on to graduate with her class in 1985. She has often cited that incident in reflecting upon her success. "The experience was the most difficult in my life, but it made me strong, resilient, self-reliant, confident and a true believer that if you work hard and truly believe, you can achieve anything," she told the Network Journal.

After a brief stint as a press aide to a Boston city councilman right out of college, Kaigler hit the road with $100 dollars in her pocket and the companionship of her cat Shadow. She landed in Columbus, Georgia, where she became an on-air reporter with the NBC affiliate WLTZ-TV. She soon returned to Boston and another on-air reporting job for WHDH-TV, also an NBC affiliate. "I had a lot of dreams then about reporting from the White House and chasing the big story," she told the Black Sports Network. "But I then realized that the lifestyle that accompanies being a reporter is not conducive to having a stable family, and I didn't want my life to just be about my career." She left reporting in 1989 and took a job as communications director for the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. Meanwhile, she married lawyer Joseph Kaigler and went on to have two children, Joseph Jr. and Danielle.

Achieved Big Success in Corporate America

In 1991, at a fundraising event for the Boys & Girls Club, Kaigler approached the director of human resources for Reebok with the goal of seeking funding for the club. A few weeks later, she was shocked when the director contacted her about a job opening at Reebok. Within the year, Kaigler was working as a media relations specialist at the company's headquarters in Canton, Massachusetts. The move seemed fated as Kaigler quickly blossomed in her new corporate capacity. Within six months she was promoted to a senior position in media relations. Two years later, she was moved into the corporate department and promoted to communications manager, a position she held for three years. In 1997, she was promoted to director of global public relations, a high-profile role which kept her traveling all over the world as she oversaw Reebok's media relations activities in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. By the late 1990s, Kaigler had become senior director of corporate communications.

Though Kaigler's rise in the company was noteworthy, it was not until her next promotion that her career became newsworthy. In 2001, Kaigler was appointed vice president of global communications and talent relations. Her promotion to this newly created position made her the highest-ranking African American in Reebok. In this role, she oversaw both internal and external communications, was responsible for worldwide corporate and brand public and media relations, and served as the main corporate spokesperson. Kaigler excelled especially in talent relations, working with celebrity endorsers, such as Allen Iverson, 50 Cent, and Venus Williams, and creating and overseeing their product launch events. Though her role in talent relations took her all over the world including to Paris on the private jet of Jay-Z, to the Athens Olympics, and to dozens of glamorous parties, Kaigler kept her head. "I've not once considered myself a celebrity," she told the Black Sports Network. "I look at my job like anyone else looks at their job."

At a Glance …

Born Denise Moore on June 26, 1962, in Huntington, WV; married Joseph Kaigler; children: Joseph Jr. and Danielle. Education: Emerson College, BA, journalism, 1985.

Career: Boston City Council, press aide, Boston, MA, 1985; WLTZ-TV, television reporter, Columbus, GA, mid-1980s; WHDH-TV, television reporter, Boston, MA, mid-1980s; Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, director of communications, Boston, MA, 1989-91; Reebok International Ltd., 1991-: media relations specialist, 1991; senior media relations specialist, 1992-94; corporate communications manager, 1994-97; director of global public relations, 1997-98; senior director of corporate communications, 1998-2000; vice president of global communications and talent relations, 2000-04; senior vice president and chief communications officer, 2004-07; Reebok International, head of global corporate communications and corporate citizenship, 2007-; Adidas (Reebok parent company), head of U.S. corporate communications, 2007-.

Memberships: Public Relations Society of America, member; Boston Association of Black Communicators, member; Arthur W. Page Society, member; Boston Chamber of Commerce, board of directors; Sportsmen's Tennis Club of Boston, former board member.

Awards: The Network Journal, one of the "25 Most Influential Black Women in Business," 2004; Women's Business Boston, one of the "Woman to Watch," 2005; Magic 106.7 (Boston radio station), Exceptional Women in Business Award, 2005; Boston YWCA, named to the Academy of Women Achievers, 2005; Dimock Community Health Center, Mary Eliza Mahoney Award, 2005; Emerson College, Alumni Achievement Award, 2005; Profiles in Diversity Journal, one of the "Women Worth Watching," 2006; Western New England College, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, 2006.

Addresses: Office—Reebok International, 1895 J. W. Foster Blvd., Canton, MA 02021.

In 2004 Kaigler was promoted to senior vice president and chief communications officer of Reebok. The position, created expressly for her by Reebok CEO Paul Fireman, was in response to the need for a communication strategist at the upper management level. In a widely quoted press release on the promotion, Fireman called Kaigler, "a strong and effective leader, talented visionary and strategic partner." The position put Kaigler on the company's nine-member President's Council, making her one of the most powerful people in the company. When Adidas bought Reebok in 2005, Kaigler moved up again, becoming head of global corporate communications and corporate citizenship for Reebok worldwide and corporate communications director for Adidas in the United States. As head of corporate citizenship, Kaigler oversees The Reebok Foundation, a role which has allowed her to give back to her roots. For years Kaigler has expressed a desire to help inner-city youth overcome the obstacles she once faced. Considering the incredible success she has achieved soaring over those hurdles, Kaigler is more than qualified to show kids, who like herself were given very little to start with, that it is still possible to reach the top.

Sources

Periodicals

Ebony, March 2005, p. 8; March 2007, p. 16.

Los Angeles Sentinel, November 10, 2004.

PR Week, November 1, 2004, p. 7.

On-line

"Denise Kaigler," Network Journal,www.tnj.com/archives/2004/march_april2004/25women.php?id=112 (August 7, 2007).

"Denise Kaigler: Happiness & Success," Black Sports Network,www.blacksportsnetwork.com/articles/features/kaigler_102506.asp (August 7, 2007).

"She's Denise Kaigler, Reebok's Sr. VP and Chief Communications Officer," Sister 2 Sister, www.s2smagazine.com/content/content.asp?issueid=200503&listid=05 (August 7, 2007).