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Co-founder and former CEO of Nike, Phil Knight is photographed for Forbes Magazine on August 31, 2023 on the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon. COVER... Chairman of Nike Phil Knight looks on as the Oregon Ducks warm up before the game against the Washington State Cougars at Autzen Stadium on October...
- Nike Chairman Phil Knight Speaks During a Public Memorial for Former... News Photo
Nike chairman Phil Knight speaks during a public memorial...
- Nike CEO Phil Knight in Gallery
Nike President and CEO Phil Knight standing next to a pair...
- Nike Chairman Phil Knight Speaks During a Public Memorial for Former... News Photo
Aug 23, 2015 · Aug 23, 2015, 10:35 AM PDT. Over the past 51 years, Nike cofounder Phil Knight built the company from an idea he had in grad school into one of the biggest companies in the world. Advertisement ...
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Phil Knight (born February 24, 1938, Portland, Oregon, U.S.) American businessman who cofounded (1964) the multinational sportswear and sports equipment corporation Nike, Inc. (originally called Blue Ribbon Sports). During his tenure as CEO (1964–2004), Nike became one of the most successful companies in the world.
Knight was the eldest of three children born to Lota (née Hatfield) Knight, a homemaker, and Bill Knight, who began his adult life as a lawyer but transitioned into newspaper publishing, overseeing the Oregon Journal. Phil Knight was raised in the Eastmoreland neighborhood of Portland, where he went to Cleveland High School. Knight was largely uninterested in academics in his early life, but he enrolled at the University of Oregon in 1955. He ran middle-distance for the school’s track team, which was headed by legendary coach Bill Bowerman, who was known for modifying his runners’ shoes to enhance performance.
Knight graduated from Oregon with a business degree in 1959. He then spent a year in the U.S. Army before attending Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He later said that while there he found his true passion for entrepreneurship and sales. In a class about small businesses, Knight initially conceived of the idea for a shoe company, and in one of the assignments, he argued that Japanese shoe production—which was relatively inexpensive thanks to cheaper labor—could outpace that of Germany, which was then the top maker of sneakers, largely because it was home to Adidas.
Upon graduating from Stanford in 1962, Knight traveled to Japan, where he toured the Onitsuka (now Asics) factory. He was impressed by the speed and quality with which the Japanese company could produce shoes, and he made a deal to sell the Onitsuka Tiger, the company’s signature shoe, in the United States. After showing the sneakers to Bowerman, the duo formed Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. At the time Knight was working as an accountant and teaching at Portland State University. During his off-hours he began selling the shoes out of the back of his car at regional track meets. In 1967 Bowerman modified the Onitsuka Tiger to create the Tiger Cortez. The sneakers proved highly popular, and by 1969 Blue Ribbon Sports had sold $1 million worth of shoes. That year Knight left his other jobs to focus on the company.
Following a split with Onitsuka in 1971, Blue Ribbon Sports was renamed Nike, in honor of the Greek goddess of victory. That year the company’s logo—the now-famous swoosh—was commissioned by Knight for just $35. Also in 1971 Bowerman designed a groundbreaking line of sneakers that had waffle soles, which offered better traction. The shoes were a hit with runners, and in 1980 Knight and Bowerman took their company public.
Nike subsequently struggled, however, and, to improve the company’s prospects, a Nike executive encouraged Knight to sign an endorsement deal with NBA rookie Michael Jordan. Although initially reluctant, in 1984 Knight signed Jordan to a lucrative contract that would revolutionize sports marketing and transform Nike into an international powerhouse. The company’s line of Air Jordan sneakers became a phenomenon and are perhaps the world’s best-known shoes. Knight also oversaw the 1988 debut of Nike’s iconic slogan “Just Do It.”
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By 1990 Nike had overtaken its competitors, and with Knight at the helm, it went on to become one of the largest companies in the world, marketing itself on cutting-edge design, celebrity endorsements, and streetwear appeal. Its rapid growth was fueled, in part, by the low-cost of producing shoes in impoverished areas of Asia. Nike was accused of using sweatshops and child labor to produce its products. Ultimately allegations of abusive conditions and forced overtime were confirmed, despite the company’s initial denial of any wrongdoing. In the late 1990s Knight announced changes and Nike subsequently began auditing the factories it used and raised the minimum wages paid.
With his vast wealth, Knight has been a major donor, especially to Stanford and the University of Oregon. In 2013 he donated $500 million to Oregon; he made a second $500 million donation in 2021. His gifts to Stanford include $400 million in 2016. Knight has also supported a series of Republican Party candidates in Oregon, citing his discomfort wi...
Knight married Penelope “Penny” Parks in 1968. The couple had three children, and their eldest son, Matthew Knight, died in a scuba-diving accident in 2004. Nike’s signing of Jordan inspired the popular sports drama Air (2023), with Ben Affleck portraying Knight. Frequently described as aloof, Knight rarely does interviews or makes public appearanc...
Apr 5, 2023 · Benyam Kidane. 04-05-2023 • 2 min read. Getty Images. When it comes to Nike, one name is synonymous with the brand: Michael Jordan. The other is Phil Knight — the founder of the company who...
- Benyam Kidane
Nike co-founder Phil Knight is seen during the Purdue Boilermakers and Duke Blue Devils game in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament Men's Championship... Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Nike Phil Knight and Senior Vice President of Nike Lynn Merritt are seen during a game between the Portland Trail...
Nike courted Jordan in 1985, when he was a college basketball all-star on his way to the NBA. He signed a five-year contract for $500,000 a year, an unheard of number at the time. Source: ESPN
