Nike’s Next CEO Sees Sports as a Way to Unify Polarized Society
John Donahoe is bringing lofty ideals to the job of chief executive officer at Nike Inc.
(Bloomberg) -- John Donahoe is bringing lofty ideals to the job of chief executive officer at Nike Inc.
The longtime tech executive, who will take the reins at Nike in January, sees sports as a way to unify a fractured society. And the world’s largest athletic brand is part of that, he told Jason Kelly and Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television.
“Sport is a very powerful institution in our world right now,” he said. “A lot of our other institutions are falling down. They’re polarizing -- whether it’s government or politics. Sport is something that brings people together.”
Of course, Nike itself hasn’t been immune to political controversy. It was called out by Vice President Mike Pence last month for ignoring human-rights abuses in China. The company also got pulled into a track-and-field doping scandal and faced outcry over the sexist behavior of some executives.
Nike’s new CEO succeeds Mark Parker, who turns 65 next year. Donahoe is coming off a stint as CEO of ServiceNow Inc., a cloud-based corporate software provider, and his tech expertise is seen as a key asset. Nike is relying more and more on apps and e-commerce sales, rather than retailers, to sell its products.
Donahoe is moving from Silicon Valley to Nike’s home in the suburbs of Portland. But the company is poised to overlap more than ever with the tech world, which is grappling with its own political quandaries. Critics have slammed Facebook Inc. for running campaign commercials with unsubstantiated information, while also knocking Twitter Inc. for banning political ads altogether.
These aren’t easy issues, which means it’s more important than ever to think through the unexpected effects of technology, Donahoe said.
‘Damned’ Either Way
Twitter’s decision “may or may not be the right answer, but it’s come after they were thinking about it and trying to get honest dialogue. And we’re in an environment where you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” he said.
“The important part is we engage in honest dialogue,” he said. “We don’t duck the issues. It’s not that technology was good and now is bad -- that’s not it at all. The reality is technology has had a profound impact on the world that is net, net, net fundamentally positive. I deeply believe that.”
Likewise, Nike is ultimately a force for good, he said.
“Nike’s at the epicenter of many things and has had a track record of playing a very positive role, not just with its athletes and customers and consumers, but also in the broader society,” he said. “And so I feel very privileged and honored to have the opportunity to serve.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Turner in Los Angeles at nturner7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum
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