How a Lifelong Shoe Lover Boosted His Career Through HBS Online’s Disruptive Strategy Course

Hafiz Azly loves shoes. He always has. So, how did he turn his passion into a career?

Azly is a first-generation American born in Athens, Ohio. His parents are educators from Malaysia who moved from their home country to pursue their bachelor's and master’s degrees at Ohio University. After graduation, they returned to Malaysia when Azly was three and stayed until he was 13. They both wanted to earn doctorates from one of the top institutions in the United States and were accepted to Columbia University. So, they returned, but this time to the New York City area.

“My parents were advised to settle over the bridge from New York, in Teaneck, New Jersey, as we were a young family, and it would be less expensive to establish a life there," Azly says. "I’m the eldest of five, and we were fortunate to grow up in Teaneck because it was a diverse town with diverse schools. In Malaysia, I grew up proficient in reading, writing, and speaking English. However, I was self-conscious about my thick accent when we moved to the U.S., so I was quiet at first.”

He started adapting to American culture through the internet and American magazines. That’s where his passion for shoes—mostly sneakers at that age—began. In the early 1990s, while living in Malaysia, his uncle gifted him his first Air Jordan sneakers, sparking his lifelong passion for the footwear industry.

Other than footwear, Azly loved to draw and was creative. When it was time to start thinking about college, he chose architecture. He enrolled in the City College of New York. Yet, after a few semesters, realized he preferred business and changed his major to marketing, eventually graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

He had kicked off his footwear career in high school. He started his own business customizing and selling sneakers online, which he continued into college. His next job was at the athletic footwear company Finish Line. In college, a friend suggested he apply for a job at Nordstrom. He was amazed by the culture and commitment to exceptional customer service. He sold jeans at first and then transitioned into footwear.

“I loved that the shoe salespeople wore suits. I always liked to dress up, so it felt right for me,” Azly says. “I loved working with customers and honed my people and problem-solving skills. I was always quiet and reserved, but being in sales got me out of my shell.”

After working on the floor at Nordstrom for six years, his regional manager suggested he go for an assistant manager role. He loved sales, so he said no at first. The second time, however, his answer changed. He had recently bought a car and could use the extra money.

“I ended up loving being a leader and dealing with aspects like conflict resolution,” Azly says. “But I felt a big weight because I was responsible for my team’s livelihood.”

Azly soon became department manager, leading the sales floor where he first started. Eventually, an opportunity to become an assistant buyer for men’s shoes at the company's corporate headquarters in Seattle, Washington, surfaced. It was unusual to be promoted to assistant buyer directly from the sales floor, but the leadership team believed in his potential, and he felt honored to make the leap.

“I loved the buying, but I didn’t even know how to use Excel,” Azly says. “Suddenly, I was pulling and analyzing selling reports. It was a steep climb. Thankfully, I worked on a great team, and we all supported each other.”

In Seattle, he was responsible for procuring and promoting men’s shoes for Nordstrom.com—just when e-commerce took off. Having store experience helped, but the skill set and knowledge required for buying online were different. He made the transition and excelled.

About a year later, he was promoted to assistant buyer for designer and luxury men’s shoes, covering stores and online. His team dramatically grew the business by broadening the product offering.

He then became an assistant product merchandiser within Nordstrom Product Group, the company's in-house private label organization, developing products for Nordstrom Made brands. He was responsible for creating men’s accessories and specialized products. After a year, he transitioned to product merchandiser of Nordstrom Made tailored clothing, focused on casualizing tailored clothing. He was promoted again after 18 months, and the scope of his role expanded to include casual men’s clothing.

“It was exciting to develop the product strategy from just an idea to a meaningful part of the business and learn from consumer insights,” Azly says. “In that job, I also started traveling internationally and felt so fortunate.”

In 2019, Azly learned that the men’s footwear product merchandiser left to take on a different role in the company. The footwear team, who knew him as a “Shoe Dog”—a term of endearment in the shoe industry—encouraged him to apply, and he secured the highly coveted job merchandising Nordstrom Made men’s shoes.

“Nordstrom started as a shoe company in 1901, so I was honored that Nordstrom leadership trusted me for this role,” Azly says. “It was a big responsibility, but I was confident I could make a difference.”

When COVID hit in 2020, Seattle’s lockdown was almost immediate. Nordstrom quickly pivoted to remote work, and the company reorganized. Azly moved back to New Jersey to temporarily work from home near his family.

In February 2021, Azly was promoted again, and the scope of his role expanded to include active and kids' footwear. Kids' footwear was a category he was less familiar with. Being near the store where he had started his Nordstrom career 17 years prior, he took the opportunity to learn the business by working on the sales floor on weekends.

That same year, he received Nordstrom's Curious and Ever-Changing Award for leadership in translating consumer insights into strategy and successfully pivoting the men’s shoe product strategy during the pandemic.

While home and with the industry changes during COVID, he decided to take an online entrepreneurship and innovation course. He knew he couldn’t rely on past knowledge to chart his path forward. He found Harvard Business School Online’s Disruptive Strategy course, and it checked all his boxes.

“When the pandemic hit, I felt learning on the job was no longer enough. I needed to learn outside the Nordstrom walls,” Azly says. “When the course started, it sparked my imagination. I really loved it, especially how Professor Clayton Christensen explained things in a memorable, easy-to-grasp way. The investment was nothing compared to the value gained. I came away from the course with such clarity, and I felt I gained a new framework I could use to create my future.”

After finishing Disruptive Strategy, Azly learned that a well-known American footwear and accessories brand was looking for a new director of product merchandising to grow their men’s dress and casual shoe business. It seemed like a perfect fit. After interviews with several of the brand’s leadership, Azly got the job.

“I had an incredibly rewarding 17-year career at Nordstrom, which I will forever be grateful for," Azly says. "It was bittersweet to leave, but I will always be a ‘Nordy,’ When I look back, what I cherish most are the people and the friendships, mentorship, leadership, lessons learned, and businesses I built. As a product person, I always feel a strong sense of pride when I see products I had a hand in still being offered today."

His new employer was a company he admired. It was the brand behind the first dress shoe he chose when suiting up to work at Nordstrom, where he sold the product on the floor.

“I liked that the shoes were something that most people would want to wear and could afford," Azly explains. "Seeing our shoes on people’s feet on every block in New York is incredible. We distribute globally, and I’m proud to see the product everywhere. It keeps me on my toes and motivates me to innovate.”

Azly is happy creating products for a brand he adores. He proudly admits he owns more than 30 pairs of their shoes. He wants to continue to grow in retail and footwear and would eventually like to advance to the vice president level or even chief merchandising officer someday.

"In Disruptive Strategy, I learned to think outside the box and envision the future," Azly says. "The learnings about innovation and pushing the boundaries are highly applicable in my job. The course had a profound effect. The things I learned are the things I’m doing and seeing now.”

If you’re interested in harnessing innovation to advance your career, explore Disruptive Strategy—one of HBS Online’s entrepreneurship and innovation courses—and download our free e-book on how to get started in entrepreneurship.