Nike has been telling athletes to “Just do it” for five decades, but when it came to executing a turnaround plan, leadership struggled to outrun slowing sales. As a result, speculation swirled that CEO John Donahoe might be replaced — but instead, he’s stepping down, and a 32-year veteran of the global leader in sportswear and athletic shoes is stepping up.
- On Thursday, Nike announced that Elliott Hill — who started as an intern in the 1980s and worked his way up to become president of the consumer and marketplace division — will be the new CEO.
- He’ll succeed Donahoe, who grew the sportswear company’s sales from $39.1B in FY 2019 to $51.4B in FY 2024, driven largely by the explosion of e-commerce. However, sales slowed after the pandemic as consumer behaviors shifted.
CEO turnover: Holding the top leadership position at such an iconic US brand is prestigious — if you can keep the job. Nike is the latest in a line of companies experiencing leadership changes, joining Starbucks, Boeing, and Nestlé, who have all recently replaced their chief executives amid shareholder pressure and a more adversarial economic climate. Time will tell if Hill can guide Nike through its current rough patch.
