Sandy Bodecker, 56, believes inspiration is everywhere. Last year, his team found what they were looking for in suspension-bridge cables. The result: the revolutionary Flywire technology, and the lightest and strongest high-performance footwear ever. Before he became Nike's first VP of global design, in 2007, Bodecker built powerful brands in two sports that had resisted the swoosh: soccer and skateboarding. Even after his big promotion, he designed a sleek black skateboard sneaker with white embroidery. "We're always thinking about what we can do with a design now that wasn't possible in the past," he says. -- by Anne C. Lee