One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97005-6453

Tel: 503/671-6453  
Fax: 503/671-6300

Web: http://www.nike.com/index.jhtml#l=nikehome&re=US&co=US&la=EN  

Background:

Nike is the largest sports and fitness company in the world founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. Bowerman was the inimitable University of Oregon coach who brought jogging to America and built an unrivaled track and field program at that university.  Phil Knight was a University of Oregon accounting student and a middle-distance runner under Bowerman. His idea was to bring low-priced, high-tech athletic shoes from Japan to dislodge German domination of the US athletic footwear industry.

Nike is based in Beaverton, OR and employs more than 24, 300 people world wide and includes brands such as Cole Hann, Bauer, Hurley and Converse. Nike operates on six continents with suppliers, shippers, retailers and service providers employing close to 1 million people. It provides athletic footwear, clothing, and equipment and is one of the most recognized supplier worldwide of these products.

 

CEO Philip Knight

Joined Nike: Before there was Nike, there was Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc., a partnership founded in 1964 on a handshake by Phil and his former track coach Bill Bowerman. The name Nike was created in 1971, and the first line of Nike shoes debuted in 1972; the company officially became known as Nike, Inc. on December 31, 1981.

First position: Selling shoes out of the back of a station wagon at track meets – looking for money, looking for believers.  Other positions held at Nike: It’s a little complicated…

As Chairman of Nike, Phil Knight’s job is to listen to ideas, combine them with his own, and make decisions based on what’s good for shareholders and the overall company. Under his leadership, Nike has evolved from a tiny company originally called Blue Ribbon Sports into the world’s largest sports and fitness company.

The company has demonstrated its ability to define and survive shifts in the U.S. marketplace. It is now using that knowledge to bring Nike products and perspectives to athletes around the world.

Outside of Nike, Phil enjoys tennis, running and golf.

 

Board of Directors

• Mark G. Parker was appointed to the Board of Directors in January 2006. As President and Chief Executive Officer of NIKE, Inc. Mr. Parker brings 27 years of extensive Nike experience to the job across a broad range of leadership roles, from product design and development, to marketing and brand management. Joining the company in 1979 as a designer, he has been involved in many of the company's most significant product breakthroughs. Prior to leading the Nike brand during a period of strong growth and financial performance, Mr. Parker successfully ran the Company's multibillion-dollar footwear and apparel businesses. In addition to helping lead the continued growth of the Nike brand, as CEO he is responsible for the growth of NIKE, Inc.'s global business portfolio, which includes Converse, Cole Haan, Exeter Brands, Hurley International and Nike Bauer Hockey.
  
  
• John G. Connors, 46, a director since 2005, is a partner in Ignition Partners LLC, a Seattle-area venture capital firm. Mr. Connors served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft Corporation from December 1999 to April 2005. He joined Microsoft in 1989 and held various management positions, including corporate controller from 1996 to 1999, vice president, Worldwide Enterprise Group in 1999, and chief information officer from 1996 to 1999. Mr. Connors is a certified public accountant.
  
  
• Timothy D. Cook, 44, a director since 2005, is the chief operating officer of Apple Computer, Inc. Mr. Cook joined Apple in February 1998 as senior vice president of worldwide operations and also served as executive vice president, worldwide sales and operations. Mr. Cook was vice president, corporate materials for Compaq Computer Corporation from 1997 to 1998. Previous to his work at Compaq, Mr. Cook served in the positions of senior vice president fulfillment and chief operating officer of the reseller division at Intelligent Electronics from 1994 to 1997. Mr. Cook also worked for International Business Machines corporation from 1982 to 1994, most recently as director of North American fulfillment.
  
  
• Jill K. Conway, 69, a director since 1987, is currently a visiting scholar with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s program in science, technology and society. Dr. Conway was a professor of history and president of Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, from 1975 to 1985. She was affiliated with the University of Toronto from 1964 to 1975, and held the position of vice president, internal affairs from 1973 to 1975. Dr. Conway holds numerous honorary doctorates from North American universities. She is also a director of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Company.
  
  
• Ralph D. DeNunzio, 72, a director of the company since 1988, is president of Harbor Point Associates, Inc., New York, New York, a private investment and consulting firm. Mr. DeNunzio was employed by the investment banking firm of Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated from 1953 to 1987, where he served as president from 1977 to 1986, as chief executive officer from 1980 to 1987 and as chairman of the board of directors from 1986 to 1987. Mr. DeNunzio served as vice chairman and chairman of the board of governors of the New York Stock Exchange from 1969 to 1972 and was president of the Securities Industry Association in 1981. In 1970, Mr. DeNunzio headed the Securities Industry Task Force, which led to enactment of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 and establishment of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
  
  
• Alan B. Graf, 50, a director since 2002, is the executive vice president and chief financial officer of FedEx Corporation, a position he has held since 1998, and is a member of FedEx Corporation’s executive committee. Mr. Graf joined FedEx Corporation in 1980 and was senior vice president and chief financial officer for FedEx Express, FedEx’s predecessor, from 1991 to 1998. He is also a director of Kimball International, Inc. and Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.
  
  
• Douglas G. Houser, 69, a director since 1970, and has been a partner in the Portland, Oregon law firm of Bullivant, Houser, Bailey since 1965. Mr. Houser is a trustee of Willamette University and a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has served as a member of the board of governors and treasurer of the Oregon State Bar Association as well as a director of the Rand Corporation, Institute for Civil Justice Board of Overseers.
  
  
• Jeanne P. Jackson, 52, a director since 2001, is founder and chief executive officer of MSP Capital, a private investment company. Ms. Jackson was chief executive officer of Walmart.com from March 2000 to January 2002. She was with Gap, Inc., as president and chief executive officer of Banana Republic from 1995-2000, also serving as chief executive officer of Gap, Inc. Direct from 1998-2000. Since 1978, she has held various retail management positions with Victoria’s Secret, The Walt Disney Company, Saks Fifth Avenue and Federated Department Stores. Ms. Jackson is a trustee of the United States Ski and Snowboard Team and serves on the board of advisors of the Harvard Graduate School of Business. She is also a director of McDonald’s, Nordstrom and Williams-Sonoma.
  
  
• Philip H. Knight, 66, a director since 1968, chairman of the board of directors of Nike. Mr. Knight is a co-founder of the company and, except for the period from June 1983 through September 1984, served as its president from 1968 to 1990, and from June 2000 to December 2004. Prior to 1968, Mr. Knight was a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand and was an assistant professor of business administration at Portland State University.
  
  
• Johnathan A. Rodgers, age 60, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TV One, LLC. Mr. Rodgers joined TV One in March 2003. Mr. Rodgers was President, Discovery Networks US for Discovery Communications, Inc. 1996 to 2003. Previous to his work at Discovery Communications, Mr. Rodgers had a 20-year career at CBS, Inc. where he held a variety of executive positions, including President, CBS Television Stations. Mr. Rodgers is also a director of Procter & Gamble Company.
  
  
• Orin C. Smith, a director since September 2004, served as president and chief executive officer of Starbucks from 2000 to 2005. He joined Starbucks as vice president and chief financial officer in 1990, became president and chief operating officer in 1994, and became a director of Starbucks in 1996. Prior to joining Starbucks, Mr. Smith spent a total of 14 years with Deloitte & Touche. He was later the executive vice president and chief financial officer of two transportation companies. Between these assignments, he was chief policy and finance officer in the administrations of two Washington State Governors.
  
  
• John R. Thompson, 63, a director since 1991, was coach of the Georgetown University men’s basketball team from 1972 until 1998. Mr. Thompson serves as assistant to the president of Georgetown for urban affairs. Mr. Thompson was head coach of the 1988 United States Olympic basketball team. He is a past president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and presently serves on its board of governors.

For more information, please use Accountability-Central’s search feature:  “Nike"

News, commentary, research and insights mentions will be displayed for your selection.

Note that some content is published in more than one section of the Web resource.

The editors at Accountability Central welcome your questions, suggestion and comments for the “Bull’s Eye” section – please address to:  editor@accountability-central.com.