Not even one year after being relieved from his duties as Nike’s top employee, John Donahoe has found new employment in some familiar ground. Donahoe was just named the Athletic Director for Stanford University where he earned his MBA in the 1980s. His first of “school” is on September 8th.
Donahoe took over the Nike CEO position in October of 2019, succeeding Mark Parker’s legendary run that began in 2006. With a background in digital commerce, technology, and global strategy, Donahoe had a proven track record of growing business for eBay and PayPal, two companies linked to the Swoosh’s ascent.
Despite seeing incredible revenue growth over his tenure, Donahoe’s strategic planning is often blamed for making Nike “uncool”. The magic behind Nike’s incredible run in the 2000s was its positive and “hip” public perception despite its billion-dollar dreams. Donahoe’s direct-to-consumer and analytics driven vision, despite making sense on paper, alienated consumers, leading to Nike’s worst revenue fall in five years.
In October of 2024, it was decided that Donahoe step down from the position, replaced by a far more charismatic Elliott Hill, a long-time Nike employee who had come out of retirement to help the athletic giant regain its footing.
