New York (AFP)
The US sports equipment manufacturer Nike announced Tuesday that Mark Parker, head of the company since 2006, was to abandon his duties as general manager, a position he will be replaced in early 2020 by John Donahoe, used to major IT groups.
Mr. Parker, who succeeded the brand's founder at the Phil Knight comma, will remain executive chairman of the board of directors.
"I will be very active and engaged," the leader assured in an interview on the CNBC news channel, hoping for an "easy" transition.
Under his leadership, sales grew and stock market shares soared.
He had recently been splashed by a scandal involving the mark at the comma. The case was linked to the four-year suspension of the star coach in charge of a Nike-funded track and field program, Alberto Salazar, for violating the doping regulations.
Mr. Donahoe is already familiar with Nike, where he has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2014.
He is not a management neophyte since he is currently General Manager of ServiceNow Software Company and Chairman of the Board of PayPal. He was from 2008 to 2015 the boss of eBay and previously that of the consulting firm Bain & Co.
"I'm proud to have been connected to Nike's adventure over the last five years through my role on the board, and I'm now looking forward to becoming a full member of the team, to working more closely with Mark, to build on Nike's success and seize the opportunities ahead, "said Donahoe in a statement.
The announcement of this change at the head of the sports giant comes the same day that the departure of the founder of the group Under Armor, Kevin Plank. The latter, who founded the company in 1996, will hand over the reins on 1 January 2020 to Patrik Frisk, the director of operations.
© 2019 AFP