Sarah Mensah is a trailblazing executive in the sports and apparel industries. A native of Portland, Oregon, she currently serves as President of Jordan Brand for Nike Inc., overseeing all aspects of the globally recognized brand. She is the first woman to hold this position.

Before her current role, Mensah served as Vice President and General Manager for Nike North America. She also led Nike’s Asia, Pacific, and Latin America (APLA) geography, Nike Sportswear for APLA, and served as VP/GM of Jordan Brand North America. Earlier in her career, she was Senior Director of Global Strategy and Business Development for the Jordan Brand.

Mensah spent 19 years breaking barriers as one of the few women in an executive role within the NBA. At the Portland Trail Blazers, she held multiple leadership positions, including Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Beyond her corporate accomplishments, Mensah is also the co-founder of North Pole Studio, a Portland-area nonprofit that supports artists with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

At the Air Jordan 40 launch event in Brooklyn, New York, BET.com caught up with Mensah to discuss her love of sports, breaking barriers as a Black woman in leadership, and her vision for the future of the Jordan Brand.

Portland, often called “Rip City,” has one of the most passionate sports fan bases in the country—from youth leagues to college teams to the pros. Mensah reflected on growing up in the city and how its basketball culture shaped her.

“Portland is a big basketball town. I remember when my dad took me to my first Trail Blazers game when I was 11, and Bill Walton was playing. That was the year they won the championship—and I was hooked,” she recalled. “For a young Black girl from Portland, that moment was life-changing. It taught me to always bring my best self to everything I do.”

Mensah pointed to the deep connection between Nike, the Trail Blazers, the University of Oregon (her alma mater), and the broader sports ecosystem in Oregon.

“There’s the Nike story, the Trail Blazers story, the University of Oregon—these institutions are almost synonymous with sport in Portland and the state overall,” she explained. “I grew up immersed in all of it.”

In her career, Mensah has shattered numerous glass ceilings. She emphasized that Black women are thriving in every industry, especially in sports, when given equal access and opportunity. At the Trail Blazers, she was allowed to work in nearly every area of the organization—and nothing was off-limits because of her gender.

“I was fortunate that the Trail Blazers, and David Stern as NBA commissioner, operated under a meritocracy,” she said. “If you worked hard and showed up as your best self, you had a shot at success. I did everything—ticket sales, suite sales, sponsorships, broadcasting. That experience prepared me for everything that came after.”

Despite nearly two decades with the team, Mensah was passed over for promotion in 2012. That disappointment led her to Nike—a move that would redefine her career.

“I was acting president of the Trail Blazers and thought I was going to become the first Black woman president of an NBA team. But the new ownership went in another direction,” she shared. “It was the first time in my career I didn’t know what was next. I was sitting in my kitchen feeling sorry for myself when the phone rang. It was Larry Miller, the former Trail Blazers president, who had returned to Nike. He said, ‘I want you to come do this for me.’ That was the first time I truly considered working at Nike.”

Mensah, a longtime sneakerhead, also shared how she got her first pair of Jordans.

“My first Jordans were mids—Jordan 1s—that I bought for myself in college. My parents didn’t have a lot of money and wouldn’t buy them for me, no matter how much I begged,” she said with a laugh. “So once I had a job, I bought them at Macy’s. I was so proud of those sneakers.”

Under her leadership, the Jordan Brand is one of Nike’s best-performing divisions. Mensah credits the brand’s continued success to its legacy of excellence and her team’s forward-thinking approach.

“I’m incredibly proud of this brand’s history, but I’m even more excited about its future,” she said. “The Air Jordan 40 launch is our way of sharing that excitement. We’re expanding beyond basketball—into global football, American football, golf, and motorsports—while continuing to lead in style and innovation. The future is bright, and we’re thrilled to celebrate it with the next generation of Jordan fans.”