Allison Gettings becomes first woman to lead Red Wing Shoe Co.

Allison Gettings, a fourth-generation member of the family that has owned Red Wing Shoe Co. for more than a century, will become its next leader, the company announced Thursday.

Gettings, 39, will assume the role of chief executive Jan. 1, following the planned retirement of Mark Urdahl, who has led the company since 2016. Gettings has been the company's president since July.

She will become the 10th CEO and first woman to lead the shoemaker since its founding in 1905. She is the great-granddaughter of J.R. Sweasy, who was hired as the firm's superintendent in 1914, became its owner five years later and led it until 1949.

"Over the past 117 years, we have garnered incredible customer 'brand love' across our portfolio of purpose-driven brands, and we have an awesome opportunity to build on that foundation," Gettings said in a statement.

Her father, Bill Sweasy, led Red Wing from 1991 to 2013 and still serves as chairman of its board of directors.

"She's widely respected for her strategic thinking and ability to bring people together, and I am confident that she's prepared to guide Red Wing Shoe Company as it enters its next chapter," Bill Sweasy said in a statement.

Urdahl said Red Wing has flourished over the last several years "due in large part to our culture and people."

"We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us, and I know that there are great things to come as we transition leadership to Allison," he said.

Gettings joined the company in 2006 and worked in five departments. She took a two-year hiatus to start her own women's footwear brand before returning in 2014. She spearheaded the launch of Red Wing's Heritage line for women in 2016 and led a revamp of the company's outdoor business as president of its Vasque brand.

Gettings went to college at St. Olaf in Northfield and earned an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Red Wing operates more than 700 retail outlets and five U.S. manufacturing facilities in Red Wing; Potosi, Missouri; and Clarksville, Arkansas.