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Elliott Hill to become Nike ( NKE ) CEO, succeeding John Donahoe

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Hill's deep Nike ( NKE ) roots contrast with Donahoe's external

CEO

background

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Analysts expect Hill to reinvigorate Nike ( NKE ) amid innovation

and

culture challenges

By Nicholas P. Brown

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Elliott Hill started at Nike ( NKE )

as an intern in 1988 but steadily scaled its ranks, banking on

values of grit and hard work ingrained in him as the son of a

single mom in a working class Texas neighborhood.

Those qualities may be useful again when Hill becomes the

global sneaker and sportswear brand's top boss next month,

helping revive the company where he has spent his whole career.

Nike ( NKE ) announced on Thursday Hill will become its next chief

executive officer on Oct. 14, replacing the retiring John

Donahoe.

Its sales have faltered in recent months, as nimbler, more

innovative brands such as On and Deckers' Hoka

have gained market share. Nike ( NKE ) is in the midst of what it says

will be a three-year endeavor to cut $2 billion in costs.

Where Donahoe was an outsider - brought in in 2020 after CEO

stints at eBay ( EBAY ), Bain Capital and the cloud company

ServiceNow ( NOW ) - Hill is Nike ( NKE ) to the bone. He joined it out

of graduate school at Ohio University in 1988, lobbying a

company rep who had spoken at his sports marketing class.

"I bothered him for six months until he finally hired me,"

Hill said on the FORTitude podcast in December. "I told him

'everybody in my class has a job except me.'"

His blue-collar bona fides go back even further than that.

Born in Austin in 1963, Hill's father left the family when he

was three. His mother set an "unbelievable example in terms of

commitment and work ethic," he told the podcast. Sports, he

added, became a key piece of his childhood.

At Nike ( NKE ), he held stints in sales, including in the Dallas

office. "I did 60,000 miles a year, two years in a row, in an

old Chrysler minivan," he said, describing his early years

selling shoes to mom-and-pop retailers.

After myriad other roles - including directing Nike's ( NKE ) team

sports division, and serving as its vice president of global

retail - Hill became President of Consumer & Marketplace in

2018. He retired in 2020.

Hill recalls a time when Nike ( NKE ) epitomized innovation. He was

in the room when the company unveiled its iconic "Just do it" ad

in 1988. Employees watching the internal presentation erupted in

cheers, he said on FORTitude, a podcast featuring people like

Hill who lived and worked in Dallas-Fort Worth. "If you can

inspire people inside of your company, you know you're going to

inspire people outside the company," he said.

Hill did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment. But

Nike ( NKE ) said Hill was well-regarded internally, and believes his

hire will be popular with employees.

MICHAEL JORDAN'S SHOE

The Texas Christian University graduate helped lead Nike's ( NKE )

Dream Crazy campaign, narrated by NFL quarterback Colin

Kaepernick, in 2018. He also built relationships with key

athletes, including Michael Jordan.

When Hill wanted to take the Jordan brand global, the

basketball star was nervous about the move, and said he was

going to leave one of his size-13 shoes on Hill's desk. "I want

you to think about that shoe, and if our revenue goes back, I'm

going to come and stuff that up your rear," Hill remembered

Jordan saying.

Hill laughed while describing the moment on the podcast. "It

was mainly said in jest," he said, "but you know I got the point

that he believed in us and was going to take a risk."

Hill and his wife, Gina, created a scholarship at Central

Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon, where the couple's

children attended school. Hill raised money for the scholarship

by auctioning the sports memorabilia collection he had

accumulated in three decades at Nike ( NKE ).

Laundry - a Portland clothing store that sells mostly

vintage sports team apparel - partnered with Hill on the 2022

auction, its owner Chris Yen told Reuters on Thursday.

Yen had no idea who Hill was when he received a cold call

from him. Hill told Yen he had learned of the store through his

son, and wanted to work with him. The auction raised $2.1

million between memorabilia sales and private donations, Yen

said.

"Elliott is the best possible person for the job and to help

get Nike ( NKE ) back to winning again," he said.

Wall Street analysts hope Hill can bring excitement back to

the Nike ( NKE ) brand.

"Product innovation at the company is still lacking," said

Brian Nagel, an analyst at Oppenheimer, adding that "management

has been loath" to restore partnerships with key retailers.

Jessica Ramirez, an analyst with Jane Hali and Associates,

put it bluntly: At Nike ( NKE ), she said, "the culture has fallen

apart."

(Reporting by Nicholas P. Brown. Additional reporting by

Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar

Anantharaman)