As a young girl growing up in Walnut Creek, California, Jordie Katcher remembers most of her friends hanging posters of athletes and actors on their bedroom walls. Katcher, on the other hand, carefully hung clothing labels. The daughter of two educators, she’s not sure where her love of fashion came from, but following clothing trends has been a lifelong passion — one that led to her becoming vice president of Women’s Global Sport Apparel at Nike.
The path to becoming an executive at one of the world’s top sportswear brands wasn’t always clear. When it came time for college, Katcher considered a fashion major, but worried her interest might wane and instead decided to study business. She toured several campuses but quickly knew UCR was the right school for her.
“The tour guide seemed to know everyone we passed by. People smiled and waved at each other,” she says. “From then on, I had an immediate feeling of community at UCR — something I didn’t feel from any other school.”
While At UCR, Katcher also joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, participating in service projects and forming lifelong friendships during what she calls an “unforgettable” time. She graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a minor in psychology.
“I found my voice at UC Riverside — an inner confidence that has served me well throughout my career,” she says.
Following UCR, Katcher joined the Macy’s Store Management Executive Development Program, an intensive 2-year program where she learned from the ground up about staffing, visual displays, inventory management, customer service, managing a workforce, and mining consumer insights. She then went on to work for the corporate arm of clothing retailer Gap Inc. in San Francisco.
“A highlight of my time at Gap was being part of the team to launch Old Navy in Canada,” she says. “We opened 13 stores in one day within the greater Toronto area. Thinking back, this was such a fond memory.”
During her five years at Gap, Katcher married her husband, Barry. She smiles when recalling how Barry found and submitted an application for the position at Nike in Portland for her — where she has now been for two decades (and counting).
Most recently, Katcher saw her contributions to women’s sports apparel come to life in the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. “It was magical. We outfitted nearly 50 federations across multiple sports, each with their own story. We design our products to ensure athletes can perform free from distraction.
“Seeing the smiles and pride on the athletes’ faces as they put on and competed in our product validated that we delivered on all of that. It was mind=blowing to see it all come to life.”
In 2020, Katcher stepped into the role of vice president of Women’s Global Sport Apparel at Nike. Her team’s mission was to create uniforms and outfits for all the athletes across their vast portfolio of women’s sports, including developing the innovative kits used by footballers in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The international football tournament, which saw record-breaking global viewership in the multimillions last summer, was the first event she worked on with her team.
“I still have to pinch myself that this was part of my job,” she says.
According to Katcher, each project begins by listening to the athletes. It’s a collaborative process that includes athlete and coach insights as well as partnership with the federations themselves, who approve the final designs.
“We spoke to professional footballers across the world to design the kits for World Cup ’23,” she says. “We had a few goals when we set out on this project: to challenge status quo every step of the way, innovate to remove every distraction possible, and make these athletes look and feel amazing.”
With only 6% of sports studies focusing on women, innovating at this scale was a challenge. In response, Nike restructured its business model to allow for a concentrated focus on women, she says.
“My role in Global Sports Apparel was an example of that — the increased focus was backed by Nike’s largest investment in women yet,” Katcher says. “We doubled the volume of women-specific sport science, expanded our insights teams focused on women and girls’ research, and grew our sports marketing offense to support our athletes in this space.”
Nike also invested in scanning technology to better understand athletes’ bodies in motion. These investments led to the most data-informed kits Nike has ever created, including using 4D heat mapping to determine where extra ventilation or support is needed and incorporating ‘Dri-Fit’ technology to ensure breathability and fast sweat evaporation. The resulting kits were worn by the U.S. women’s national soccer team and 12 other countries competing in the Women’s World Cup.
Katcher has since transitioned to vice president of Global Kids Apparel, where she plans to use the experience from her previous role to serve the next generation of athletes.
“I’m especially excited to explore opportunities to better understand and serve teen girls,” she says. “We know that girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys. While there are many factors that contribute to these statistics, many cite changes in their body as their number one drop-out reason.”
Katcher is most proud of the development of “Nike Leak Protection: Period,” an ultra-thin, absorbent liner built into the Nike One short to help protect against period leaks, which she says will have a positive impact for generations of athletes. The technology, which also debuted in the Women’s World Cup as part of the kits’ base layer, helps eliminate distractions and allows athletes to focus on the game.
She’s also making time to become more involved with UCR as an alumna, “mostly networking with other UCR alumni at Nike and in the Pacific Northwest,” she adds.
Blending a business education and fashion works, she says: “Fashion is a business. There are so man y roles in fashion, some more creative and some more math and science-based. Business acumen is valued and integral in any of the roles.”
“I plan to continue to challenge myself and make a positive impact wherever and however I can,” she says. “This includes helping those younger in their careers to find their voice and footing.”
Her advice to students and alumni interested in similar careers: “Take the summer retail jobs. Seek internships that help you build your skill sets but also hone your understanding of what types of roles are interesting to you. Follow industry trends. Don’t shy away from reaching out to people in the industry to learn more. I find a lot of joy in the mentoring sessions I have with university students who have reached out to me for advice. There are a lot of people out there who want to provide guidance to you.”
Don’t close any doors before you’ve opened them to see what’s inside, she advises. “Some of my best roles have been ones I never could have written down on paper. Sometimes other people see possibilities for you that you couldn’t have conceived of yourself.
“Find your trusted partners and mentors. Build your own ‘board of directors’ that can help guide you along the way. There will be good days and not so good days, it’s all part of the journey.
“And, importantly, help others, too. Always.”