Nike's Converse Brand Is Said to Lose Chief Marketer to Supreme

(Bloomberg) -- Nike Inc.’s Converse brand lost its chief marketing officer to streetwear label Supreme, people familiar with the situation said.

Julien Cahn resigned from Converse earlier this year and left the company in February for a marketing role at the up-and-coming brand, according to the people, who asked not to be named. Cahn joined Converse in 2016 from parent Nike.

Several executives have recently left Nike in the wake of an internal probe into misconduct, though Cahn’s departure wasn’t related, the people said. Nike began an internal review of misconduct last month, after complaints from employees. A handful of executives have exited, including Trevor Edwards, who was one of the favorites to succeed Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker.

Last week, an analyst’s report said nine Nike employees at director level or higher, including Cahn, had left the company in the past 35 days amid “recent cultural turmoil.” Nike executives go from director to senior director and then vice president. The departures are seen adding additional “downside risk” to Nike’s long-term growth trajectory, Sam Poser of Susquehanna Financial Group wrote in a note to clients.

Supreme didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Nike declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Townsend in New York at mtownsend9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson

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