John Donahoe, CEO of Nike, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., July 10, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Nike on Thursday announced that its CEO John Donahoe is stepping down and company veteran Elliott Hill will take the helm of the sneaker giant.
Donahoe, who has been Nike’s CEO since Jan. 2020, will retire from his position on Oct. 13. Hill is slated to take over on the following day. Donahoe will stay on as an advisor through the end of January.
Shares climbed 8% in extended trading Thursday.
“I am excited to welcome Elliott back to NIKE. Given our needs for the future, the past performance of the business, and after conducting a thoughtful succession process, the Board concluded it was clear Elliott’s global expertise, leadership style, and deep understanding of our industry and partners, paired with his passion for sport, our brands, products, consumers, athletes, and employees, make him the right person to lead Nike’s next stage of growth,” said Mark Parker, Nike’s executive chairman.
Just three months ago, Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight told CNBC that Donahoe had his “unwavering confidence and full support” after the company had its worst trading day in history following its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report.
But on Thursday, Knight said in a statement that he is excited to welcome Hill back to the team.
“Leadership changes are never easy, they test you, they challenge you, but this transition has been handled with remarkable thoughtfulness and an unwavering commitment to Nike,” said Knight. “Looking forward, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Elliott back to the team. His experience, understanding of Nike and leadership is exactly what’s needed at this moment. We’ve got a lot of work to do but I’m looking forward to seeing Nike back on its pace.”
Nike is in the midst of a broader restructuring after its shifted its strategy to sell directly to consumers. Critics say in the process of building out sales at Nike’s stores and website, it lost sight of innovation and failed to churn out the types of sneakers the company was known for.
The company’s poor recent performance has been blamed on that innovation slowdown.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.