Phil Knight, the Founder of Nike, will step down from his position as Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. Knight, who is 77, stepped down the company’s CEO in 2004.
The Board has implemented a succession planning process that will conclude when a new Chairman is appointed in 2016. Knight has recommended that current President and CEO Mark Parker take his place.
“I believe Mark is the best choice to succeed me,” Knight said in a company statement. “He has been an outstanding CEO for the past nine years, and has demonstrated time and again his love for this company and his clear vision for capturing the tremendous potential Nike has to innovate, inspire, and drive growth.”
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Knight also has transferred 128,500,000 shares of Nike Class A Common Stock and approximately 15% of total Nike Class A and Class B Common Stock to the newly formed limited liability company Swoosh LLC.
Swoosh has its own Board of Directors to serve as its governing body, which will determine how the Class A shares are voted and managed going forward. The Swoosh Board will initially have four total members. Knight will exercise two votes, while the remaining three members will each account for one vote.
Nike also named Travis Knight, Phil Knight’s son, as the newest member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Knight, 41, is President and CEO of the animation studio, Laika LLC, which specializes in feature films.
