Nike president O’Neill out in latest shake-up under new CEO
Elliott Hill says that the company is resetting its priorities and that management has decided to change its structure at the top of the organisation
[NEW YORK] Nike is reorganising its senior leadership team as its new chief executive officer shakes up several top roles at the world’s largest sportswear company.
CEO Elliott Hill, who came out of retirement to take the top job at Nike in October, said in a statement on Monday (May 5) that Nike is resetting its priorities and that management has decided to change its structure at the top of the organisation.
Heidi O’Neill, Nike’s president of consumer, product and brand, will retire as a result of the changes. She joined Nike in 1998 and ran units including Nike’s direct-to-consumer business. O’Neill will work in an advisory capacity until September.
O’Neill has had “a legacy that will leave a lasting contribution, for which I am personally grateful”, Hill wrote in a note sent to Nike employees that was seen by Bloomberg News.
Amy Montagne, formerly vice-president and general manager of Nike’s women’s business, will oversee the Nike brand as president. Footwear executive Phil McCartney will be the company’s chief innovation, design and product officer, while marketing executive Nicole Graham will now lead those efforts across its brands Nike, Jordan and Converse as chief marketing officer.
Longtime Nike executive Tom Clarke, who’d been serving as a strategic adviser to Hill, was named chief growth initiatives officer. He’d previously led innovation at Nike.
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“I’m confident that with this new structure and leadership team in place, we will be able to better line up and leverage all the advantages that make Nike great,” Hill said in the memo.
Hill has been working to reorient Nike, which is coming off a turbulent year of layoffs and sales woes, in his early months as CEO.
The latest executive shifts come after many similar moves, with Hill naming new leaders for strategy, sports marketing, human resources and legal departments.
Hill has set out to return Nike to its sports roots, after the company bet big on fashion and lifestyle products. He’s also re-engaging with retail partners after his predecessor pulled back from wholesalers in favour of Nike’s own stores and website. BLOOMBERG
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