Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

As a hockey-loving kid from Minnesota, Jim Weber always had a competitive spirit and a knack for leadership. In the seventh grade, he wrote that he wanted to become an NHL hockey player, and his second choice was to someday run a successful company. Although his hockey dreams didn’t quite pan out, Weber further honed his leadership skills in college, earning his undergrad in business management followed by an MBA from the Tuck School of Business. As Weber’s career continued to grow, he worked in banking and held leadership roles with several large consumer product brands, including Pillsbury and Coleman. But in 2001, Weber’s career — and the trajectory of a local athletic brand — shifted when he became the CEO of Brooks Running and put a purpose-driven approach at the center of it all. The struggling brand had seen four CEOs in the past two years, and the staff betting pool had him lasting four months. Weber devised a one-page strategy that he believed would save the company and lay the foundation for Brooks