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In the minds of incoming Nike president and CEO Elliott Hill, there is a pathway for the sports apparel and footwear giant to recover from its current malaise. But to quote a legendary marketing slogan from the company, can Nike “just do it”?
Hill will take over next month for the embattled and outgoing John Donahoe, marking Nike’s most drastic step to date in its corporate rebuilding process. Dogged for months by a sagging stock, falling sales, and staff cuts, the challenges are significant for Hill—something he acknowledged in an email sent to company employees.
“I know things haven’t been easy, and we certainly have taken our fair share of shots,” Hill wrote.
But in that same note, Hill also said he will lean on a long-held practice to “always put the consumer at the center of everything, and every decision.” In the minds of many, that practice had increasingly escaped Nike in the Donahoe era as the company appeared to struggle more with product innovation—particularly in the face of rising competition from upstart brands such as On and Hoka.
Hill started as an intern with Nike in 1988 and is now coming out of a four-year retirement to take the company reins. According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he will be paid a compensation package worth up to $27 million, depending on Hill’s ability to hit certain performance targets and earn incentive awards. The figure is slightly less than the $29.1 million in compensation Donahoe received during Nike’s fiscal 2024.
Optimism on the Street
Investors have made their feelings on the executive switch very clear. After sending up shares more than 9% in Thursday after-hours trading immediately following the announcement of Hill’s return, that gain largely held as Nike shares closed Friday at $86.52 per share, up nearly 7%.
Still, there’s no quick fix for Nike, and the stock remains down by 19% for the year, contrasting from a broader landscape in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average has soared to record highs. But analysts generally agreed Donahoe’s departure and Hill’s arrival could provide a new energy to the company.
“We believe this highly anticipated leadership change will inject a much-needed sense of urgency, focusing on product innovation, storytelling, marketing, and rebuilding wholesale partnerships—areas that suffered under previous leadership,” wrote Deutsche Bank’s Krisztina Katai in a research note.
