Spotlight on Juan Mejia, the newest member of the HR Advisory Board

Juan Mejia currently serves as the VP, Human Resources Commercial at Foot Locker, Inc. He progressed internally in multiple roles since joining the company in 2006. We caught up with him to discuss his journey in HR and footwear and to get his take on the most pressing issues facing the industry today. 

What are the most pressing topics impacting HR and footwear right now?  

There's been a significant amount of talent movement in footwear since the pandemic. A key focus right now is developing a deep talent bench of future industry leaders. HR leaders in footwear are hyper-focused on succession planning, talent development and upskilling the current workforce. 

Also, when it comes to external factors like tariffs, you need to really understand where there may be exposure and recognize that this is something that's going to continue to evolve. You also want to be proactive and make sure that you have a clear understanding of your distribution channels and what options exist for mitigating some of that potential cost. 

How has the HR sector changed since you started in the field?  

HR in general has gone from being more focused on personnel and managing day-to-day challenges and opportunities within talent to really being a strategic partner to an organization’s leadership team. HR leaders now have an opportunity to really help shape where a business is going strategically. 

How have changes in technology impacted HR? 

We're constantly having conversations about how to leverage technology to streamline, simplify and automate current activities. We're not looking to replace talent but rather enable them to work on other priorities to have an even bigger impact. 

What are you most looking forward to about joining Two Ten’s HR Advisory Board? 

Two Ten has been a great advocate for our team members whenever they're experiencing difficult times. I am excited to join the HR Advisory Board to figure out how we can continue to leverage Two Ten’s resources in a meaningful way.