Current Nike CEO John Donahoe is stepping down as President, Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of the Board of Directors. In 2020, Donahoe took over from Mark Parker, the current chairman of The Walt Disney Company. Nike is bringing back top executive Elliot Hill, who retired from Nike in 2020, to succeed Donahoe.
Donahoe leaves
Nike is changing course. On September 19, the Nike Inc. board of directors announced that Elliot Hill will become the new CEO at Nike effective October 14, 2024. In addition, Hill will also replace Donahoe on the Board of Directors and become a member of the Executive Committee.
Donahoe had been under pressure for some time. In 2020, he took over Mark Parker's position as chief executive officer of Nike, after serving as CEO at eBay for an extended period. For more than five years, Donahoe set Nike's direction, focusing primarily on strengthening its direct-to-consumer strategy.
As past annual reports have shown, Nike has not made the progress it wanted, something Donahoe has been blamed for. Although Nike's sales continued to rise, the company posted lower profits, the Nike 2024 Q4 report showed.
Disappointing figures
Nike is growing, but lagging behind. In addition to disappointing results, the hype surrounding iconic silhouettes, such as the Air Jordan 1 and Air Max 1, also seemed to fade, partly due to overproduction. Whereas sneakers used to sell out in no time, they now stayed on the shelves longer, waiting to go on sale.
Whether this was a result of a 2021 Nike meeting in which the SNKRS app was scrutinized after it lost its users is hard to say. In this meeting, the company, functioning under Donahoe's leadership at the time, expressed fear of losing a large portion of SNKRS app users, in part because of releases that would be too exclusive.
Donahoe's solution: “Exclusive Access” for loyal users and “exclusivity at scale,” a degree of rarity around a sneaker that could additionally meet demand. Larger volumes in releases, in other words. Whether this strategy did Nike any good, however, remains to be seen.
Top man Elliot Hill
It's up to Elliot Hill to turn the tide. Hill is no stranger to Nike and worked for the company for more than 32 years before retiring in 2020. In his career at Nike, Hill has held a number of positions. He started as an intern in 1988 and has worked his way up within the company over the decades.
In 2006, he was appointed Vice President of Global Retail, and in 2018 was President of the Consumer & Marketplace division. After serving as President for two years, Hill took early retirement in 2020. Now he returns, to the delight of many, as Nike's stock rose 9.99% after news broke that Elliot will return.
"For 32 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with the best in the industry, helping to shape our company into the magical place it is today", Hill said in a statement. "I’m eager to reconnect with the many employees and trusted partners I’ve worked with over the years, and just as excited to build new, impactful relationships that will move us ahead."
Hill will start as the new CEO at Nike effective October 14, 2024. Donahoe will remain with the company as a consultant until January 31, 2025, to ensure a smooth transition.
