John Donahue, the new chief executive of Nike, has installed a new leadership team to replace the one that accompanied the outgoing CEO, Mark Parker, from April 1 onward. Two former Parker lieutenants, Eric Sprunk and Elliott Hill, will retire from the company later this year. Like Trevor Edwards, who left in 2017 following complaints by female employees, they had both been touted as Parker’s possible successors.
Significantly, one of the new members of the executive team is a woman, Heidi O’Neill, current president of Nike Direct. She will become president of consumer and marketplace, succeeding Hill. While continuing to run Nike Direct, O’Neill will be in charge of global sales and the Nike Brand’s four regions: North America; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); Greater China; and Asia-Pacific and Latin America (APLA). Up to now, the highest-ranking female executive in the group has been its general counsel, Hilary Krane.
Another new executive vice president, Andy Campion, will rise from chief financial officer to chief operating officer, succeeding Sprunk. Campion will be taking charge of global technology and digital transformation, procurement, manufacturing, demand and supply management, distribution and logistics, sustainability, and workplace design and connectivity. Nike’s current CFO of operating segments and vice president of investor relations, Matthew Friend, will be succeeding Campion as overall CFO.
Campion, who became CFO in 2015, joined Nike in 2007 after working at Walt Disney Company for 11 years. Friend has been with the company since 2009. He was previously an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Meanwhile, Nike has yet to announce a replacement for its chief digital officer, Adam Sussman, who left a few days ago to become president of Epic Games. He has been a key driver in the development of the e-commerce and shopping app ecosystem that has been supporting the company’s “consumer-direct offense.”
