Human intuition isn’t replaceable: Nike's Deepa Ramprasad on an icon’s evolution

As the highly anticipated Pegasus Plus 2 breaks cover, Nike’s Deepa Ramprasad reveals how biomechanics and athlete feedback shaped the new ‘super runner’

There remained a shroud of secrecy around Nike’s newest flagship running shoe , the Pegasus Plus 2, for a fair period of time. The Beaverton headquartered legendary sneaker brand kept the technical specifics of this sneaker locked away, and as it turns out, with good reason. A lot of it has to do with the tech advancements involved in the new sneaker, and also the realignment of the sneaker portfolios that started as far back as 2024.

Nike now has a three tier system, which Deepa Ramprasad, Senior Director, Nike Running Footwear, also referenced during her conversation with HT. (Official images)

Nike now has a three tier system, which Deepa Ramprasad, Senior Director, Nike Running Footwear, also referenced during her conversation with HT. The Pegasus, the star of the moment, will focus on responsiveness, which is key for runners whether they are athletes or casual runners. The Vomero lineup alongside, will cater to users who want the best cushioning. And then there’s the Structure line, which will focus on the best possible support for the foot. The upcoming Pegasus Plus 2 is essentially a ‘super runner,’ with the biggest visible structural change being the addition of an Air Zoom pocket at the forefoot. This configuration mirrors elements of Nike’s elite race-day shoes to deliver a more energetic toe-off.

While the first generation Pegasus Plus used a standalone, full-length ZoomX midsole, the Pegasus Plus 2 expected to bring a major structural configuration shift. This includes a dual density ZoomX paired with a structural base foam. Specifics will be clear once HT gets to experience the new sneaker. In a conversation, Ramprasad notes the importance of listening to feedback from Nike’s athlete roster which she says is non-negotiable, irreverent innovation with an attitude, the importance of consistency when evolving, and the importance of delivering a “magical and special” experience for customers. Edited excerpts.

You sit at this very unique intersection of biomechanics, materials science, consumer behaviour and product strategy. Where do you believe the biggest breakthroughs over the next five years will come from?

I think that the next big breakthroughs are going to come from ultimately continuing to obsess and listen to the voice of the athlete and rounding our innovation through what the athlete needs are. I can say confidently that it will come from our commitment to listening, obsessing, and delivering a system of innovation in a way that only Nike can. The future is yet to be written, but when you listen to the voice of the athlete, you can’t lose.

What is your take on diminishing returns in terms of tech, also because performance and sustainability don’t always pull in the same direction? What will define Nike’s product innovation and technology focus for the next few years?

I absolutely don’t believe that we’ve reached a point of diminishing returns within the footwear or running footwear industry specifically. Ultimately, the future has got to look like a future without compromise, and that’s our commitment here at Nike, and certainly for Nike footwear and Nike innovation, we have got to continue to innovate and design a future with no compromise where athletes can have it all.

The Pegasus is iconic after four decades, whereas countless running shoe lines have disappeared in this time. What has Nike considered as non-negotiable, and how do you balance generational innovation versus incremental evolution?

When we looked to refocus our Nike road running lineup a couple of years ago, it was very intentional for us to do a couple of things. First, we knew that we needed to ground ourselves with cushioning as the competitive advantage for runners and also cushioning innovation as the competitive advantage for Nike. That was really important. We know runners love cushioning, and we believe that we have a competitive advantage in delivering cushioning innovation in a way that no other brand can.

And we knew that we had to make it a more consistent experience so that consumers could feel really confident in the choices they were making. It was no coincidence that we grounded that lineup in three iconic mainstay franchises for Nike running—the Pegasus, Vomero, and the Structure. Within that, it’s a really critical balance, an art and a science, of how do you maintain consistency and trust so that a Pegasus lover’s experience can continue to grow as we innovate.

As we revolutionise the shoe, we think deeply about how to balance that trust and consistency with irreverent innovation that has an attitude, in a way that’s evocative, and delivers that new and innovative solution. It is an ever important balancing act of how we maintain trust and irreverence, and undeniably, a sensation and an attitude that reads Pegasus, Vomero and Structure.

What was the brief underlining the Pegasus Plus 2, and how would you define it?

Deepa Ramprasad: Very simply put, it was about speed without sacrifice. How can we deliver a fast tempo trainer in a way that only Nike can? One that doesn’t sacrifice on the needs of comfort, stability, and endurance? It is really about that call to action, and we’re really proud of the system that we’ve created. Our athletes tell us, from the elite athlete to the athletes that we work with for running, that we’ve delivered that in a way that’s really quite magical and special.

Has AI had any influence in material discovery or design? And when conceptualising and designing, does human intuition remain irreplaceable?

Human intuition will never be replaceable, period. And also, what’s really exciting about the digital revolution that we’re all experiencing is that digital assets and capabilities that we’re committed to and are investing in, are fundamentally allowing us to make more innovative, agile decisions that ultimately get us to a better physical system and a better intuitive system sooner in the process.

I see digital capabilities very much as an enabler of ultimately that human tangible physical experience. To me, the two really work in harmony, not in opposition.

Nike invests heavily in athlete testing. How difficult is it ti design for world-class performance versus designing for someone who’s running after work?

One of the things that we’re extremely proud of, which has been a commitment that Nike Footwear and Nike Running Footwear has had throughout our history, is in testing our products, with all athletes, and their various relationships to sport. And what I mean by that is, while we absolutely work with elite athletes to validate and test and iterate our new systems and our new products, we also ensure that the everyday athlete’s voice is included in that testing and validation process.

That’s so critically important, because ultimately, our commitment is to making running more accessible, more enjoyable, and more invitational for all who have a curiosity and a desire to enter the sport.

The running shoe market is arguably more competitive today than at any point in Nike’s history. If we revisit this conversation in five years, do you foresee intense competition accelerating innovation, or is there a risk of brands chasing specifications instead?

I will say our commitment will be to continue to ground ourselves in the voice of the athlete and deliver systems that are innovative and have an ethos that only Nike can deliver. That way, we are highly intentional about the systems that we deliver. You can’t lose—it absolutely has never been a word fun our dictionary. The competitive and dynamic market than we’re seeing today, is a good thing.

Competition makes us better, stronger, and when you listen to users, the answers become very clear very quickly.