Madison D., Global Procurement Analyst

“There’s such a large degree of flexibility to own your role.”

Q&A with Madison Darrah, Global Procurement Analyst

What’s your background and how did you find yourself at Converse?

I’m from Southern Maine. I graduated from Simmons University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance. I didn't specifically want a financial position—that's not really my jam, but I knew that finance would provide me with hard analytical skills that I could use to market myself to an organization. I knew I wanted to work for Converse in an Operations role but I didn't know what specifically I wanted to be, all I knew is I was eager to learn.

Global Procurement Analyst, what does that entail?

When you're in an elevator, it's like, “I'm a Procurement Analyst”, and people go, what do you mean? What do you actually do? Our mission as a Converse Procurement team is to “partner-to-win.” Procurement seeks to partner both internally with our business colleagues and externally with our suppliers. In this way, our value proposition is that we partner with the business to solve problems through collaborations to spark growth. As a global team, we can leverage our Inc. scale, expertise and external relationships to enable speed, innovation, mitigate risks and promote sustainability.

What surprised you about coming to work here?

There are many aspects of the business that are not consumer-facing at all, and yet all teams focus on driving the business forward. Everyone at Converse acts as one team part of a larger collective. I mean, we're here to do a job and we work really hard, but at the end of the day we are a team who is encouraged to be creative in the way that we solve problems.

Do you feel like Nike has increased your influence worldwide?

Nike really gives a lot of reach. We are so plugged into our global network despite time changes, despite culture differences, despite business differences, we really are one team, completely international. I had a meeting with China last week, so I'm up at 11pm making a call, doing work, but it's just super cool being so well-connected.

How would you describe life at Converse?

I would say Converse is a place that fosters intense creativity. We work hard, but we reward ourselves when the work has been done, and done well. It's like three main points: creativity, innovation, and working so freaking hard, but really appreciating and congratulating the team and celebrating our wins. We work really hard and when the job is done, we celebrate our wins as a team.

What was your favorite part of your internship?

At the end of the internship, you do a presentation that you worked on all summer—teams all working together, developing ways to go to market and reach consumers—and the whole company turned out to see us. It was just so cool, the energy was amazing.

What would you say to someone who wants to apply here?

It's hugely autonomous at Converse. You are the owner of what you do and there's a lot of support and mentorship. People want to mentor you. But for the most part you are owning your job. That’s intimidating being fresh out of school, but they know you're smart and they brought you on for a reason. Do what you do best, and you’ll receive the type of support you actively seek.