FN is the publication of record for senior footwear and fashion executives and a must-read for shoe-obsessed consumers. Since 1945, top CEOs, brand leaders, retailers and designers from the fashion world and beyond have turned to FN for breaking news, analysis and must-read profiles on the most powerful people in the footwear industry. In addition to business and industry content, the publication covers sneaker news and releases, celebrity style and fashion trends that rule the streets, runway and red carpet.
FN’s multi-platform content coverage expands across digital, social and print as well as branded content, events and summits. The FN CEO Summit, which takes place annually, brings together the industry’s game-changing leaders. The annual FN Achievement Awards, now in its 37th year, honors the year’s most influential executives, branch architects, changemakers and style stars. Past honorees have included Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Stan Smith and many more. The annual Women Who Rock event recognizes the female leaders who are breaking boundaries at a critical time for women in power.
The publication has been owned by Penske Media since 2014, and operates as part of Fairchild Media Group, which also owns WWD, Beauty Inc. and Sourcing Journal as well as the Fairchild Live events business.
EDITORIAL
Chief Brand Officer, Fairchild Media; Editorial Director, Footwear News
Michael Atmore is the Chief Brand Officer of Fairchild Media, driving content and branding across all Fairchild properties, including WWD, Footwear News, Beauty, Inc., Sourcing Journal, and Fairchild Live. He also oversees both FN and Footwearnews.com, which offer extensive coverage of footwear-industry trends, fashion designers, business executives and retailers, as well as reports and reviews of the major runway shows. Under his direction, FN hosts two industry events: the annual FN Achievement Awards, and the FN CEO Summit, a biennial executive conference that draws a diverse cross-section of top-level executives and industry professionals.
Prior to joining Fairchild in 1997, Michael was founding Editorial Director and Publisher of Footwear Plus. He has an extensive background in retail, having served as Editorial Director for a group of retail-based publications at International Thomson. He has also held top editorial positions at U.S. Business Press and Harcourt Brace.
Katie Abel has been Executive Editor at FN since September 2017. In her role, she is responsible for managing the staff and daily operations; overseeing and editing print and digital content for FN and Footwearnews.com; and partnering with sales, marketing and events teams across Fairchild Media Group. Abel has written profiles on Sarah Jessica Parker, Christian Louboutin, Venus Williams, Manolo Blahnik, Nike’s Heidi O’Neill, the Nordstrom family and many others. She launched FN’s annual Women in Power print issue and Women Who Rock event to spotlight female leaders across fashion and footwear. She contributes to WWD and Sourcing Journal. Abel previously held the title of Global News Director at the Penske Media-owned publication. Prior to that, she served in several writing and editing roles at FN under previous parent company Condé Nast. She began her career at The Charlotte Observer, the largest newspaper in North Carolina. Abel received a B.A. in journalism from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Executive Digital Director
Charlie Carballo is a writer, editor and the Executive Digital Director for Fairchild Media Group, leading traffic strategy for footwearnews.com and wwd.com. His previous roles with FN include West Coast Digital Editor and Senior Digital Editor. He has also written for iHeartRadio, NY Post, Variety, Made in Hollywood, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the Gainesville Sun and other outlets. He holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Florida. Some of his writing interests include marketing/advertising campaigns, viral moments, red carpets and more. He is based in Los Angeles.
Senior News and Features Editor, Athletic and Outdoor
Peter Verry is the senior news and features editor for athletic and outdoor at Footwear News, overseeing coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets. He joined the company in 2015 as athletic and outdoor editor and was elevated to senior editor of the markets in 2018. Verry is an experienced writer and editor, with a career that spans more than 13 years. Prior to joining Footwear News, he freelanced for several lifestyle magazines and was a local editor for Patch, where he was responsible for coverage of the Town of Smithtown, a community on the north shore of Long Island, New York. A lifelong New Yorker, Verry received an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University.
Karla Rodriguez is the Senior News Editor at Footwearnews.com, where she manages trending content production. Previously, Karla was an editor at Complex, covering all things entertainment, celebrities and Internet culture. During the 12 years of her career, Karla has been covering award shows, interviewing A-List talent, and has written for and edited at publications like teen magazine J-14, UsWeekly, Elle, Teen Vogue, MamásLatinas, Revolt TV, and more. She was born in Quito, Ecuador and then relocated with her family to Long Island, New York as a child. Media and culture served as a way to assimilate into the culture, inspiring her to pursue a degree in journalism from St. John's University, where she graduated with honors.
Senior Trending News Editor
Ian Servantes is a senior digital editor at Footwear News specializing in sneakers. His prior experience also includes coverage of fashion, streetwear, music, television, and film through roles at Input, Highsnobiety, and Complex. He's also contributed as a freelancer to outlets including Variety, Vulture, and Spin. He's a proud graduate of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism and doesn't fuss over keeping his sneakers clean.
Nikara Johns is currently a Senior Editor at Fairchild Media's FN publication where she has been covering red carpet events and awards shows, from the Met Gala to the SAG Awards, since 2014. In addition, she covers all facades of fashion and entertainment, working with top brands, designers and celebrities to generate long-form features as well as high-traffic digital pieces. Subjects have included Cardi B, Ellen DeGeneres, Jessica Simpson, Giuseppe Zanotti, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Hailey Bieber and more. Prior to taking on her role at FN, Johns gained experience in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles as a reporter at Variety magazine. Johns has also been featured in WWD, Sportico, Yahoo.com, The Guardian and Page Six, and has spoken at industry events, including Fairchild Media Group summits, New York-based fashion trade show Coterie and WWD Magic. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking for her Instagram followers and going to concerts. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from DePaul University and lives in New York. Find her on Instagram @nikarajohns.
Shoshy Ciment is the Business Editor at Footwear News, where she oversees business and financial coverage for the world's leading retail and fashion companies. She writes and edits stories about earnings, acquisitions, executive changes and workplace issues and also writes longer-form analyses and investigations, which often appear in FN's print issues. Her work is regularly syndicated in WWD, The Robb Report, Sportico and Sourcing Journal. Before joining FN, Shoshy worked as a retail reporter at Insider and established the company’s footwear beat from scratch, breaking stories on companies like Nike, Adidas and StockX. She is a proud graduate of Yeshiva University, where she served as the managing editor for the university’s student newspaper, The Commentator.
Stephen Garner has been News Editor for Footwear News since November 2021. Prior to joining FN, Stephen was the longtime digital editor and fashion director at menswear trade magazine MR, where he produced and styled multiple cover stories, interviewed men’s industry executives, relaunched its website and wrote daily breaking news stories. He also held the roles of assistant accessories buyer at DLS buying office and men’s trend forecasting assistant at WGSN. Stephen began his career in magazine publishing at Fairchild as an accessories editorial intern at WWD. A Washington, D.C. area native, Stephen received a B.S. in advertising and marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
ECOMMERCE
Director of Commerce for Footwear News and WWD
Adam Mansuroglu is the Director of Commerce for Footwear News and WWD, overseeing strategy for shopping content on both brands, along with writing and editing shopping guides, product reviews, and shopping trend stories for all types of footwear, from designer shoes to athletic sneakers for both men and women. Prior to his current role, Mansuroglu was a fashion editor and stylist at Cosmopolitan Magazine, Style Editor at BestProducts.com, and Senior Style & Gear Editor for Men's Health Magazine, where he edited the annual Men's Health Sneaker Awards. Mansuroglu has been tapped as a shopping expert for editorial websites such as Wirecutter, and his writing has also appeared in Out Magazine, Esquire and other publications.
Senior Beauty and Lifestyle Commerce Editor for Footwear and WWD
Claire Sullivan is the Senior Beauty and Lifestyle Commerce Editor for Footwear News and WWD. She has over six years of experience as a writer and editor for national media outlets including Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, and Byrdie. She keeps her finger on the pulse of all things related to beauty and wellness, regularly digging into foot health-related topics like plantar fasciitis-friendly shoes or top-notch foot creams.
Style Commerce Editor for Footwear News and WWD
Nikki Chwatt is the Style Commerce Editor for Footwear News and WWD, where she writes and edits shopping stories on celebrity style, the latest fashion trends, and new shoe releases. Before joining Footwear News, Chwatt wrote for publications, including Editorialist. In her spare time, she enjoys scrolling through her favorite retailers and social platforms to stay up to date on the latest, greatest, and classics of what people wear, buy and love. As a New York City native, Chwatt is always searching for the best designer sneakers to get around comfortably. As a result, she has an overstuffed shoe closet that needs to be cleaned out.
Commerce Writer & Producer at Footwear News and WWD
Olivia Cigliano is a Commerce Writer & Producer at Footwear News and WWD where she writes shopping content on the best-rated footwear, TikTok style trends, and more. Olivia received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Emerson College, and her byline can be found in publications including Elite Daily and CR Fashion Book. In her free time, Olivia can be found scouring the internet for deals on cool combat boots and dad sneakers to add to her ever-growing collection.
How We Select Products for Reviews and Shopping Guide Recommendations:
To uphold Footwear News’ long-standing authority and credibility in the shoe and retail industry, our commerce team consists of well-versed shopping writers and editors with years of expertise in reporting on the latest product trends while testing shoes, sneakers, socks, and other items related to footwear and podiatry across style, wellness, athletic, outdoors, and foot care categories. The FN Shop team also collaborates with a number of reputable freelance contributors who follow the Footwear News product recommendation methodology, providing shoe and sneaker recommendations backed by top industry experts and specialists, including medical professionals, celebrity and fashion stylists, retail buyers, fashion historians, trend forecasters, and footwear product developers.
Additionally, our product recommendations are vetted by the Footwear News editorial team that has their fingers on a pulse of the shoe and sneaker markets, reporting on the latest innovations in foot comfort, performance sneakers, orthopedic offerings, and more.
To support our comprehensive shopping guides, the FN Shop team also writes and edits in-depth explainers on different foot conditions to help you to best understand what products meet your footwear needs, whether you’re shopping for the best shoes for standing all day or the top walking shoes for plantar fasciitis.
Though we may receive affiliate commissions on products purchased through our content, our product selection for shopping guides and reviews is solely based on editorial research and testing to ensure our readers are receiving the most valuable, trustworthy guidance to shop the best footwear on the market.
