Information about Phillip Knight

Philip H. Knight (born February 24, 1938) is the co-founder and former CEO of Nike, Inc.. Knight is known for his monetary support of the University of Oregon, where he received his bachelor's degree in accounting in 1959. Knight received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1962. In 2006, Phil Knight donated $105 million to Stanford GSB - at the time by far the largest donation to a business school in history.

While at the University of Oregon, Knight participated in track under legendary coach Bill Bowerman. Knight was a letter winner in 1957, 1958, and 1959.

Knight's 35% stake in Nike, Inc., has a recent net worth of $7.9 billion (US), which makes him the 30th richest American.[1]

Knight stepped down as the company's CEO and President on December 28, 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board. He was replaced by William Perez, former CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., who was in turn replaced by Mark Parker in 2006.

Entrepreneur Beginnings

Philip Knight was a track runner at the Univerisity of Oregon. It was during this time that his interest in running shoes developed, since Bowerman was continually developing new running shoes. In these days running shoes were typically cheap junk by today's comparison, with many being made by tire companies and costing as little as $5. Knight, not being the best on the team, often found himself experimenting with Bowerman's latest shoes...

Right after graduation Knight enlisted in the Army for a year, and then enrolled in Stanford's Graduate Business School. It was here that Knight dreamed up Nike.

In Frank Shallenberger's small business class Knight discovered a love affair with something besides sports - he discovered he was an entrepreneur. Knight recalls in a Stanford Magazine article[2]: "That class was an 'aha!' moment" ... "First, Shallenberger defined the type of person who was an entrepreneur--and I realized he was talking to me. I remember after writing that paper, saying to myself: 'This is really what I would like to do.' " In this class Knight needed to create a business plan. His paper, "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?", essentially was the premise to his foray into selling running shoes.

After getting a 'real job' as his father suggested, Knight decided to make a trip to Japan to refine his ideas, and help quench his high interest in all things Asian. It was here that he visited an Onitsuka plant, who was making Adidas running shoe knock-offs. So impressed with quality and low cost, he decided to cut a distribution deal in the U.S. with them before leaving.

Nike's Origin

Knight's first sales were made out of a now legendary green Plymouth Valiant at track meets across the Pacific Northwest. These early sales finally allowed Knight to break away from his accountant day job by 1971.

It was actually Jeff Johnson, a friend of Knight's who suggested the name Nike and luckily, Johnson's opinion prevaled. Nike is named after the Greek winged goddess of victory. Nike's logo, now considered one of the world's most powerful logos with goodwill worth tens of millions on the balance sheet, was commissioned for a mere $35 dollars, from Carolyn Davidson. According to Nike's website Knight stated "I don't love it, but it will grow on me." However, some time later in 1983 (Nike went public in 1980), Davidson was given an undisclosed amount of stock from Knight and Nike for contribution to the company.[3]

Labor Issues

Knight was named a "Corporate Crook" in Michael Moore's book Downsize This! in 1997. The book cited the harsh conditions in Indonesian sweatshops, where pregnant women and girls as young as fourteen years old sewed shoes for factories that the company contracted to make its products. Moore went to Knight in the hopes of convincing him to fix this problem. That interview can be seen in Moore's film The Big One – of the nearly 20 CEOs that Moore tried to interview for his movie, only Knight agreed to speak with Moore.

Knight informed Moore that Nike does not own any of the factories that make its products. Knight told Moore if he was willing to invest in and build a factory in the US that could match the quality and price of footwear made overseas, Nike would consider buying shoes from him.

Knight pledged in 1998 to impose more stringent standards for the factories that Nike hires to make its goods, including minimum age standards, factory monitoring and greater external access to Nike's practices.

In 2000, he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his Special Contribution to Sports in Oregon.

On August 18, 2007, Knight announced that he and his wife, Penny, would be donating $100 million dollars to the University of Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund.[4] This donation is reportedly the largest in the University's history.

References

External links

• Stanford Magazine article
• Origin of the Swoosh
• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• Nike founder is Ducks' spiritual godfather - The Seattle Times, 31-Oct-2006, by Bud Withers
• Movers & Shakers: Entrepreneurs who rocked our world. - Entrepreneur Magazine, May 2007

•  • [ e] Nike, Inc.
Corporate Directors: John G. Connors | Jill Ker Conway | Timothy D. Cook | Ralph D. DeNunzio | Alan B. Graf | Douglas G. Houser | Jeanne P. Jackson | Phil Knight | Mark Parker | Orin C. Smith | John Thompson
Assets & Products: Air Jordan | Air Melo Line | Bauer | Cole Haan | Converse | Exeter Brands Group | Hurley | Nike Air Max | Nike Considered | Nike Free | Nike Golf | Nike SB | Swoosh | Team Starter | Nike Total 90
Annual Revenue: $15 billion USD (9.5% FY 2005) | Employees: 26,500 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: NKE | Website: www.nike.com