Nike 2005 Annual Report Download - page 7

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION TO THE IDEA OF BEING NIKE’S CEO? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION TO THE IDEA OF BEING NIKE’S CEO?
DAY ONE, THE PHONE CALL COMES. . .DAY ONE, THE PHONE CALL COMES. . .
(BP) I had mixed emotions. If you love sports, you couldn’t help but be
excited about being able to work with the greatest sports brand in the world.
But leaving a company after thirty-four-and-a-half years is not easy, and
leaving the people was diffi cult. Still, Nike was my brand. I had been running
in Nike shoes for many, many years and I was going from a company I loved
to a brand I loved.
SO WHEN YOU ARRIVED, HOW DID NIKE SURPRISE YOU?SO WHEN YOU ARRIVED, HOW DID NIKE SURPRISE YOU?
I was surprised by the energy, enthusiasm, passion and excitement of the
people here, and the sense that we can do anything. Everybody competes, not
against each other, but against everyone in the marketplace.
We have to be as hungry tomorrow as we
were yesterday—as hungry as Phil Knight was
when he was selling shoes out of his car. My
sense is that the people here are very hungry
to achieve new success. I know I am.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE SURPRISED NIKE? HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE SURPRISED NIKE?
I think I was culturally aligned with Nike more than anybody expected other
than Phil Knight. I think people probably expected me to take a longer time
to get indoctrinated into the Nike culture, but I have felt at home here.
HOW DID YOU APPROACH ENTERING A HOW DID YOU APPROACH ENTERING A $1414 BILLION COMPANY? BILLION COMPANY?
I tried to learn as much as I could. This is not a turnaround situation, so I’ve
been able to focus my efforts on learning as fast as I can. And I’ve had the
opportunity to meet and understand the culture and the people.
WHAT ADVICE HAS PHIL KNIGHT GIVEN YOU?WHAT ADVICE HAS PHIL KNIGHT GIVEN YOU?
Phil and the Board gave me advice in terms of understanding what should
never change at Nike and what we want to perpetuate. At the same time,
this helped give me an idea of the types of things that might be appropriate
to change if sensible.
“
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST MISPERCEPTION ABOUT NIKE?SO WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST MISPERCEPTION ABOUT NIKE?
That Nike is simply an opportunity for people who want to invest in the
sports business. We are a high growth consumer business investment and
we’ve been generating high returns for the last several years. I’m not sure that
is always recognized. In addition, we have Converse and Cole Haan; the fast-
growing Starter brand; Bauer, one of the leading hockey brands in the world;
and Hurley, an up-and-coming surf-culture lifestyle brand.
WHERE WILL NIKE’S NEXT BIG GROWTH OPPORTUNITY COME FROM?WHERE WILL NIKE’S NEXT BIG GROWTH OPPORTUNITY COME FROM?
From developing markets—India, Thailand, Indonesia, Brasil, China, Russia—
and the development of Converse, Starter and our other subsidiaries. We’ve
just scratched the surface in women’s fi tness. In soccer, we have become
one of the world’s leading on-fi eld performance brands. And we’ve been
able to leverage that on-fi eld success by creating an entirely new category
of soccer-inspired street footwear. And we see opportunities like this
throughout the portfolio.
HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOU ARE SUCCEEDING IN THIS JOB? HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOU ARE SUCCEEDING IN THIS JOB?
If we can sustain the growth, which obviously gets more challenging as the
company gets larger. If we can keep the Nike Brand healthy, and if we can
establish Starter and Converse as major players in the market—that will
look like success to me.
WHAT IS A GREAT MISTAKE YOU THINK BIG COMPANIES MAKE?WHAT IS A GREAT MISTAKE YOU THINK BIG COMPANIES MAKE?
Complacency. If we start reading our own press, we have big problems. We
have to be as hungry tomorrow as we were yesterday—as hungry as Phil
Knight was back when he was selling shoes out of his car. My sense is that
the people here are very hungry to achieve new success. I know I am.
HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH THAT WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY NUMBER ONE?HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH THAT WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY NUMBER ONE?
You redefine the market in bigger chunks so that you can aspire to double
your business. A lot of companies make the mistake of narrowly defi ning
the business segments in which they are working so they can talk to
themselves about being market leaders. I worry about complacency,
but then again, this company has proven time and time again that it
can continue to grow.