Nike co-Founder & Chair PHIL KNIGHT yesterday revealed that he will step down from the company board in June, saying right now he is "at peace" with the decision. Knight last summer announced he would step down at an unspecified date this year. Appearing on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Knight said, "It may be (hard to let go). Come ask me in June." He added, "I just have a philosophy that it is a lot better to step down two years early than two years late." Knight also addressed competition in the sportswear business, saying, "Everybody is a concern ... (Under Armour) is one of them. ... There are lots of them that we compete with, but believe me, we will compete." On the company's future, Knight said, "Nike's great growth period lies ahead of it. ... Innovation is key to us and I like the group we have working on innovative new products and systems and that excites me about the future as well" ("Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 4/26). USA TODAY's Susan Page noted Knight upon stepping down will "keep an office and stay involved." Knight: "When that day comes, I might get a little emotional -- maybe like KOBE going out. There's a few tears that day. I'm comfortable with that, and I'm comfortable in my own shoes" (USA TODAY, 4/26).
KNIGHT WATCH: In Portland, Matthew Kish in an cover story writes Knight, a "somewhat singular figure in American business history," guided Nike from startup to the "index of the country's most elite companies." Knight this week published his memoir, "SHOE DOG," and in 53 years he has "gone from selling shoes out of the back of a Plymouth Valiant to a private hanger at Hillsboro Airport and charitable gifts rocketing past" $1B. However, to some Knight is a "reclusive and accidental billionaire who lucked into starting an athletic company at the start of the jogging boom and rode it into the Fortune 500 with the help of ace advertising and MICHAEL JORDAN's greatness." Knight's business skill is that the cornerstones of Nike's business "remain relatively unchanged: innovate, capitalize on the emotion from sports, work with the best athletes." Jordan's Nike deal in '85 would become the "gold standard for athletic endorsements." But the "power of advertising was a late addition to Nike's business plan." Knight keeps an "iron grip on Nike's shares" and he controls 72% of Class A stock. However, in '07, he said, "What drives me is not money." Kish notes that "has become clear since Knight stepped down," as he has been "giving away big chunks" of his estimated $25.4B fortune. In fact, many of Knight's early charitable donations "went intentionally unnoticed." Knight in '07 pledged $105M to Stanford's business school and pledged another $400M to Stanford this year "for a Rhodes-like scholarship program." By '14, he and his wife PENNY had given an estimated $300M to Univ. of Oregon athletics. In '15, he and Penny "donated a matching" $500M to the OHSU Knight Cancer Center (PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/22 issue).
STAYING CONNECTED: Knight has been making the media rounds all week to promote the release of the book, and ABC’s Robin Roberts said it is “like reading a novel, it’s absolutely beautifully written." Knight said of starting the company, "I wanted to be a profession athlete, but I was not that good, so I wanted to find a way to stay involved in sports” (“GMA,” ABC, 4/26).
