Caitlin Brennan
Caitlin Brennan is a seasoned design professional with more than a decade in the fashion and materials world, currently serving as a Senior Designer at Pangea Made. She specializes in CMF (color, material, finish) design, color trend forecasting, and structured product development—skills she honed earlier as a Conceptual Color Trend Manager and accessories designer at Chico's FAS, Inc.. Balancing creativity with commercial rigor, Caitlin brings a practical, empathetic approach to design and to the teams she leads; outside of work she identifies first as “mom” and “wife,” roles that shape how she creates and collaborates.
In her role at Pangea, Caitlin manages relationships with major OEMs and brings leather interiors to life for brands such as Toyota, Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford. Her work requires extensive travel—she regularly visits partners across Europe and Asia—and she’s excited to be traveling to Japan soon to present in Tokyo. A highlight of her portfolio was contributing a leather design to a special Ram edition produced for Chris Stapleton in 2023, an achievement that underlines her ability to blend storytelling, craftsmanship, and product rigor.
Caitlin is also a committed advocate for sustainability and community impact, promoting leather as an upcycled, high-value interior material and supporting programs that extend material life cycles—efforts that have included collaborations with local makers such as Pingree Detroit. She studied fashion marketing and merchandising and developed her design practice through hands-on mentorship and cross-disciplinary experience (including coursework at Western Michigan University). Recognized internally with Pangea’s Teamness Award for her collaboration and team-first mindset, Caitlin approaches every project with curiosity: she aims to create products that are beautiful, functional, and responsible—designs that inspire and empower both makers and users.
• Western Michigan University
• Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago- Bachelor's
• Teamness Award from Pangea (2022)
• Holy Spirit church in Grand Blanc, Michigan
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to finding the right mentor early in my career. When I graduated and got a job at Chico's in Florida, I started as a coordinator under a designer who was really my mentor. I'm a very creative person, and I just found that design was my path. There was a reason that she was my mentor, because it was what I was meant to do, and I've been growing in the design field ever since. Even though I didn't go to school for design, I ended up learning and growing under her guidance, and that gave me the foundation I needed to succeed.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is that it’s possible to build a career you love while still providing for your family, raising children, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry is that you can absolutely build a successful career and a family. With persistence and flexibility, you can pivot when needed—just like I did, ultimately designing the Ram Truck gifted to Chris Stapleton in 2023 and earning the Team Player Award in 2022.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is balancing being present for both my work team and my family. At the same time, there’s a huge opportunity in sustainable leather design and the chance to grow through global OEM collaborations and expanded professional networks.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me are embracing flexibility, pursuing a career I love, and fully enjoying my time as a mom to my three children—ages 9, 6, and 1—while being present and engaged both at home and at work.