Inspiring story of Elliot Hill who started his career as a hardworking intern before working his way up to become CEO of iconic megabrand Nike
Few people know the inner workings of Nike from top to bottom better than Elliot Hill.
After starting his career at Nike as an intern, Hill, 60, promptly began rising through the ranks. Now he is preparing for the coveted position of CEO.
Last week, Nike announced it was parting ways with CEO John Donahoe in an effort to shake things up at the struggling sneaker giant.
Under Donahoe’s tenure, the company lost billions of dollars in market value.
In an attempt to return Nike to its former glory, Hill was brought back as their new CEO.
Elliot Hill, 60, started his career at Nike as an intern before rising through the company’s ranks to reach the coveted position of CEO.
Before stepping into the role, he told the Wall Street Journal that the shoe company is “a core part” of who he is.
Hill began his storied career at Nike in 1988. At the time, he was a graduate student at Ohio University, where he earned a degree in sports administration.
For a class on sports marketing, Hill wrote about one of his favorite brands: Nike.
When he found out that Tim Joyce, one of the company’s executives, would be visiting the campus, he arranged a meeting with him.
During his conversation with Joyce, Hill pleaded his case to get a job. He received no response, so he pursued the director for the next few months.
As graduation day approached, Hill tried one last time to contact Joyce with a desperate pitch.
The graduate student told the director that he would not call him again if there was no chance of being hired.
Last week, Nike announced it was parting ways with CEO John Donahoe in an effort to shake things up at the struggling sneaker giant.
If not, Hill said he would keep calling Joyce until he finally said no.
The director told him yes one Friday, and Hill loaded everything he owned into his car and drove from Ohio to Tennessee, where he would start work on Monday.
But when he walked into the company’s Midwest regional sales office for his first day, he discovered he hadn’t exactly found a job.
Hill’s new boss told him it would be a six-month internship. ‘An internship?’ he thought to himself.
He accepted the unglamorous position, put his head down and got to work.
During his internship, Hill packed boxes in a warehouse and answered the phone when the office needed customer service assistance.
In an effort to return the company to its former glory, Nike recently appointed Hill as their new CEO
“I’ve done pretty much everything they asked me to do and then some,” he told the newspaper Wall Street Journal.
During his internship, Hill was still paying off his student loans.
“I never told my mom it was an internship,” he told the Fortitude FW Podcast. “I told her I was accepted.”
He was soon hired, turning his internship into a position as a clothing salesperson for the company.
For two years, Hill drove his Chrysler minivan around the country, visiting major stores in Texas and Oklahoma, where he sold Lycra.
Hill began his storied career at Nike in 1988. At the time, he was a graduate student at Ohio University, where he earned a degree in sports administration.
It was located near the bottom of the company personnel car and remained forgotten for some time.
It took ten years for Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, to find out who he was.
But despite this inauspicious start, Hill managed to get promoted every few years for decades. When Hill retired in 2020, he was president of Nike’s consumer division.
And most recently, Knight led the move to make Hill the company’s new CEO.
During his internship, Hill packed boxes in a warehouse and answered the phone when the office needed customer service assistance.
By doing this, Nike hopes to revive their business. Under former CEO Donahoe, the company made a series of blunders.
Like the WJ notes that Nike made the mistake of favoring e-commerce over stores. The company has also suffered from stiff competition, unimpressive sales and poor morale.
Before taking the helm at Nike, Donahoe had spent most of his career at Bain, where he was CEO. He later left Bain to take important jobs at eBay and ServiceNow.
About five years ago, he switched from software to footwear, taking control of Nike, where he had previously been a board member.
But despite this inauspicious start, Hill managed to get promoted every few years for decades. When Hill retired in 2020, he was president of Nike’s consumer division
The company now hopes to tap into Hill’s experience, institutional knowledge and passion, which is so intense that he cries when discussing how much the brand means to him.
Nike wants to usher in an important transition period with Hill. Ursula Burns, who started as an intern at Xerox before working her way up to CEO, shared WJ that it is crucial to have someone like Hill in such times.
“When you’re transitioning in the company,” she said, “it’s valuable to have someone who understands the heart and soul of the place.”