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Phil Knight Officially Retires As Nike Board Chair, Mark Parker Named As Replacement

PHIL KNIGHT on Thursday "ended his five-decade career at Nike," and it is "not just a career end for a captivating personality," but the "end of an era for Oregon business," according to Andy Giegerich of the PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL. By "remaining mostly media-shy and by giving away his billions to philanthropic causes, Knight was easily Oregon's most compelling, and probably best-known, home-grown person" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/1). The AP's Sarah Skidmore Sell notes Knight "has retired from its board" and President & CEO MARK PARKER has been named Chair. The move "completes a transition plan that was announced" in June '15. Knight "resigned as CEO of Nike" in '04 but had remained BOD Chair. He will become Chair Emeritus, "which enables him to attend board meetings as an observer." Parker has been President & CEO since '06. Nike also announced that Apple CEO TIM COOK, on its BOD since '05, "will become its lead independent director" (AP, 7/1).

WINDING DOWN: In Portland, Matthew Kish wrote Knight "is a somewhat singular figure in American business history." When asked how close he ever came to selling Nike, Knight said, "It was only a couple of conversations and I never really came close. In some ways, business was getting hard. Those who had ownership could make a lot of money and they wouldn’t have to go through the hardship. But at the end of the day, as I got into the reality of having to sell it, I said, 'When my grandkids ask what I did and I say I founded Nike and they say what’s that?' That ended the discussion." He responded to criticism of Nike's role in the commercialization of athletes, calling it "frankly absurd." Knight: "If there was no Nike, athletics wouldn’t be any less commercial. As much as anything, it’s television driven. ... The prices for TV rights to sporting events keep going up, and that’s what drives it more than anything." Knight said of retirement, "There have been times where I’ve talked about burnout. ... But at the end of the day, I had the best job in the world." He added, "If you can’t keep yourself motivated here, you have a problem." As for advice for Parker, Knight said he has "absolutely nothing." Knight: "Mark Parker and I have worked together for almost 40 years. He finishes my thoughts before I even know I’m having them sometimes. When he becomes chairman, I won’t have any words of advice for him at that time as he’s already gotten any wisdom I’ve got. His door is always open. We have a good relationship and good communication" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/30).

STOCK TIPS: In Portland, Jeff Manning notes a SEC filling "spelled out the steps Knight took to hand over control of his large block of Nike stock." Knight "sold his voting interest" to a trust headed by his son," TRAVIS. Phil Knight formed Swoosh Inc. "to hold his Class A shares of Nike." After the sale of Swoosh Inc. voting interests, Travis Knight "controls two of the five votes on the Swoosh board, with the remaining three votes exercised by Parker and his fellow" Nike BOD members ALAN GRAF JR. and JOHN DONAHOE. The Swoosh Inc. shares represent about 15% "of the combined outstanding shares of Nike Class A and Class B common stock" (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/1).

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