Management and Leadership of Nike

The Management and Leadership of Nike

The Management and Leadership of Nike

In 1948, Bill Bowerman accepted the position as head coach of track and field at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Bowerman would go on to become a highly respected coach and mentor, and would help to build the University of Oregon, and Eugene, as the track capital of the world. In 1955, Bowerman’s reputation helped to draw a talented middle distance runner from Portland to the U of O, by the name of Phil Knight. Bowerman’s dedication to running and his constant search to find ways to give his runners a competitive edge left a lasting impression on Knight. After graduation from Oregon, Knight went on to receive an MBA from Stanford University, where he wrote a paper claiming that low cost, lightweight running shoes manufactured in Japan, could compete with the more established German manufactured shoes ruling the market at that time (Nike, 2008). Knight received his MBA in 1962, returned to Portland, and received a loan from his father to use to take a tour of the Far East (Moore, 2006). While in Japan, Knight became interested in the Tiger shoes he saw many of the runners there wearing, found his way to the factory where they were made, and talked his way into a distribution agreement to sell Tiger shoes in the US.

Upon his return to the US, Knight decided to send two pairs of the Tiger shoes to Bowerman, hoping his former mentor and coach would offer to buy several pairs. Instead, Bowerman stunned him by offering to become his partner. A week later, in January of 1963, each man agreed to put up $500, and formed a new partnership called Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), selling Tiger brand shoes in the US. BRS would go on to sell Tiger manufactured shoes until 1972 when legal troubles forced an end to the partnership. BRS continued on however, selling Bowerman designed shoes manufactured in Mexico.

The Nike name first surfaced in 1971, when long time employee Jeff Johnson dreamed of...