Nike And Under Armour CEO Change

Recently, Nike and Under Armour, the two largest sportswear giants in the United States, have discussed major personnel changes.

Nike

In October 22nd, the US sports giant Nike (Nike) announced that John Donahoe, the board member, will replace Mark Parker as the new president and CEO of the group, and the appointment will take effect in January 13, 2020.

In the future, Mark Parker will continue to manage the company as executive chairman and work closely with John Donahoe and top management team.

John Donahoe is currently the president and chief executive officer of software company ServiceNow, and officially became a member of Nike's board in 2014. He has a wealth of experience in consulting, e-commerce and technology. From 1999 to 2005, he served as the global managing director and chief executive of Bain Capital, and served as president and CEO of eBay, an electronic business platform from 2005 to 2015. In 2015, he became chairman of PayPal, an Internet payment company.

Mark Parker said that John Donahoe has very rich experience in the field of e-commerce and technology, and has strong long-term vision and leadership. It is the best candidate for the new CEO. It is believed that John Donahoe will speed up the digital reform process of Nike and expand the influence of the "Consumer Direct Offense" consumer interaction program.

Since 2006, this year has been the thirteenth year of Mark Parker as chief executive of Nike. Last year, he said that after 2020, he would continue to serve as chairman and chief executive officer of Nike after a series of negative news reports such as the resignation of senior executives and the poor working environment of staff complaints.

So this sudden change of Nike caused many conjectures in the industry, even before some even suspect that the departure of Mark Parker is related to a doping scandal recently involving Nike.

Recently, the United States Anti Doping Association (USADA) has issued a 4 year ban to the founder and coach of the Nike Oregon Project Albert Salazar, which is suspected of providing stimulants and ointments for athletes. Nike also made quick feedback and shut down the Nike Oregon Project center decisively.

Although no specific reasons for leaving Mark Parker were given, the group said that the sudden departure of Mark Parker had nothing to do with the above events.

Under Armour

In October 22nd, the US sportswear brand Under Armour (Andemar) announced that it promoted the group president and chief operating officer Patrik Frisk to the Group CEO, and the appointment will take effect in January 1, 2020.

Since 1996, Kevin Plank, the chairman and chief executive of the brand, will continue to lead the board of directors as chairman and brand director of the group, focusing on product upgrading and brand culture construction.

After taking office, Patrik Frisk will join the board of Under Armour and report to Kevin Plank.

Patrik Frisk is 56 years old and has nearly 30 years of experience in clothing, footwear and retailing industry. Before joining the Under Armour in 2017, he served as chief executive officer of ALDO Group, a shoe and accessories retailer in Canada. He also served as an American outdoor footwear Confederation of Timberland, Vans and The North Face, the president of the American Outdoor alliance, the president of the brand and the vice president and general manager of the company.

In recent two years, Under Armour has been making efforts to transform and restructure. To cut costs, they shut down poor performing stores, cut jobs and reduced procurement costs. Due to the poor performance of the North American market, sales of Under Armour in the second quarter of fiscal year 2019 did not increase significantly, up 1% to 1 billion 200 million US dollars compared to the same period last year, and the net loss narrowed to 17 million US dollars, down from the 95 million 500 thousand US dollar net loss in the same period last year. Under Armour lowered its full year forecast for fiscal year 2019.