2006
Parker becomes CEO.
He launches Nike+iPod
and designs the first
Nike+ shoe.
2010 Revenue
$19 Billion
Hampshire, testing products and enjoying the brotherhood of
athletes cum shoe dogs, trying to figure out what they and Nike were
going to be when they all grew up. Bodecker, the now legendary
codesigner of Flywire, was a broke ski racer in 1980 looking to get
his hands on cutting-edge training shoes when he agreed to try the
only pair available, two-and-a-half sizes too small, to get into Parker’s testing program. (“I had no idea the shoes didn’t fit,” says Parker.)
Former pole vaulter Tinker Hatfield was working as an architect at
Nike when Parker spied some sketches of shoes on his desk and
pointed him toward R&D. Hatfield is now the father of some of the
most iconic shoes ever made, including the Air Jordan.
Parker’s own success at Nike has had much to do with his philosophical alignment with the company’s other cofounder, Bill Bowerman, the very first cobbler to the gods. In 25 years as track coach at
the University of Oregon in Eugene, Bowerman had only one losing
season and trained 31 Olympic athletes. Subjecting his athletes to
2010
Nike stock
closes at
a record
high
1998
As general manager of global
footwear, Parker drives Nike’s
purchase of Cole Haan, the first
in a series of acquisitions that
includes Hurley and Converse.
1999
Parker green-lights
the Presto, an
ultralight running
shoe at less than
20 ounces.
2000 Revenue
$9 Billion
2001
Parker and Charlie
Denson become
copresidents
of the Nike brand.
2002
H TM, an exclusive
line of shoes
designed by
Parker, Tinker
Hatfield, and
Hiroshi Fujiwara,
launches.
2003
Parker okays work
on Nike Free,
which simulates
barefoot running.
Parker’s third year
as copresident
is marked by
multimillion-dollar
endorsement
deals with LeBron
James, Kobe
Bryant, and
Serena Williams.
Parker helps
recruit marathoner
Paula Radcliffe.
1996
Parker, now VP of
consumer product
marketing, helps
sign Tiger Woods to
a 20-year, $40 million endorsement
deal.
