Nike shakes up senior leadership, scraps chief tech, commercial officer roles
Nike is making some changes to its senior leadership team as part of its “Win Now” turnaround plan under CEO Elliott Hill.
The athletic apparel and footwear giant is eliminating two C-suite roles and adding the leaders of its four geographic regions to its senior leadership team as it looks to eliminate management layers and streamline decision-making. The changes are designed to accelerate Nike’s turnaround strategy, which includes an increased focus on performance sportswear and athletes.
Nike is eliminating the role of executive VP, chief commercial officer, which is currently held by Craig Williams.
“I want to thank Craig for his important role in advancing our marketplace strategy as CCO and for his leadership of the Jordan Brand,” stated Hill in an open letter to Nike staff announcing the changes. “Throughout his time at Nike and Jordan, Craig has united teams around the world through his passion for our brands, his commitment to excellence and his value-based leadership.”
The elimination of Williams’ role comes as the senior leaders of Nike’s four geographies will now join the senior leadership team, reporting to Hill. The leaders are Angela Dong (Greater China), Carl Grebert (EMEA), Tom Peddie (North America) and Cathy Sparks (APLA) to our team.
In other changes, the company has appointed chief supply officer Venkatesh Alagirisamy to the newly established role of executive VP, chief operating officer, effective Dec. 6. The Nike veteran will lead technology in addition to his existing responsibilities leading supply chain, planning, operations, manufacturing and sustainability. As a result, Nike has eliminated the role of executive VP, chief technology officer role and Dr. Muge Dogan will leave the company.
The global sale and Nike Direct teams will now report to Nike’s executive vice president and chief financial officer Matt Friend. Hill said bringing these teams under Friend’s leadership, alongside the strategy work he already oversees, “puts him in a unique position to connect our marketplace directly to company strategy and where we place our biggest bets.”
"It’s significant our brand presidents and our geography leaders are sitting together at the same NIKE, Inc. leadership table,” stated Hill. “With this newly evolved SLT, I’m confident we’ll be able to accelerate the core aspects of our Win Now actions. Collectively, these changes amount to us eliminating layers and better positioning Nike to continue to have an impact the way only Nike can."
