All About Phil Knight, the Founder and Former CEO of Nike

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As the founder of one of the largest athletic brands in the world, a published author and a notable philanthropist,Phil Knighthas an impressive résumé.

The Nike founder started the company with his former University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman in 1964. Knight has since become among thetop 30 wealthiest peoplein the world with a net worth of over $45 billion as of February 2023, according toForbes.

In 2016, Knight published his memoirShoe Dog, which documented not only how Nike grew from its origins as Blue Ribbon Sports to the incredibly successful company it is today, but also personal aspects of Knight’s life as it was completely changed following his entrepreneurial success.

Now, one iconic era of Knight’s long career at Nike is entering the spotlight: his groundbreaking deal with basketball playerMichael Jordanto create one of the company’s most successful products, Air Jordans, as chronicled in the movieAir.

From his early years at Nike to his personal life, here’s everything to know about Phil Knight.

He founded the company with his track coach Bill Bowerman in 1964

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Knight first crossed paths with his future partner Bowerman at the University of Oregon. Bowerman coached the school’s track and field club, which Knight joined after enrolling at the university in 1957.

After graduating from Oregon and enrolling at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Knight came up with the idea to import high-quality, comfortable running shoes from Japan to sell in America. During a trip to the country, he discovered Tiger brand shoes and signed a deal to distribute them state-side.

When Knight received his first sneaker samples, he sent two pairs to his former coach to get his opinion. Bowerman was immediately sold on the shoes, and offered to become Knight’s partner, leading the duo to form Blue Ribbon Sports.

Originally, the pair sold their lighter, more comfortable shoes in person at track meets across the country, with Knight even selling shoes out of the trunk of his car, as he wrote inShoe Dog. In 1971, Knight and Bowerman rebranded as Nike, named after the Greek goddess of victory, according toBusiness Insider.

He married his wife Penny in 1968

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Though Knight found some early success with Blue Ribbon Sports, it wasn’t quite enough to quit his day job for the first few years. In addition to keeping up his accounting career, he became an accounting professor at Portland State University, where he first met his future wife, Penelope “Penny” Parks.

The two wed in September 1968 and went on to welcome two children. While the Knights mainly keep a low profile, they’re known for their philanthropic efforts, donating billions of dollars to various institutions.

His son died in 2004 in a scuba diving accident

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Knight’s son Matthew died in 2004 during a diving trip with his friends at a lake east of San Salvador. Matthew was only 34, and Knight spoke about how painful the sudden loss was in both his book and interviews at the time.

The Nike founder shared how he received thousands of letters and emails expressing their condolences, but one stood out to him from a Wall Street analyst who shared he couldn’t work for six months after his own son died in an accident, KnighttoldUSA Todayin 2015.

“It was really helpful in the sense that I kind of wanted to go to work and I kind of wanted to interact with people, but I couldn’t function,” Knight said. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s normal.’ It really did take me about six months to function again. And it’s something a parent never gets over. They say, ‘When do you get over it?’ You never get over it. Ever.”

He’s donated billions to various charities

He primarily donates to his two alma maters, the University of Oregon and Stanford University. PerOregon Live, between the two schools, the Nike co-founder has donated nearly $2 billion. He has also donated millions to support health care and other causes, primarily in his home state of Oregon.

He was part of Nike’s effort to make a deal with Michael Jordan

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In the early 1980s, Knight’s company was in a rut. The company posted a loss in 1984, and its stocks struggled after going public in 1980. Knight wanted the company to break into the basketball playing ground, and one of his salesmen, Vaccaro, had a vision to make a deal with Jordan, who was just a rookie at the time.

Though Knight was hesitant to see the vision into fruition, Vaccaro convinced him and Rob Strasser, Nike’s director of marketing at the time, to take the risk on Jordan — who alsoneeded convincing of his own, as Adidas and Converse were the leading brands at the time.

“We really needed a boost and we thought this young basketball player from North Carolina might be able to help us that way, and his name was Michael Jordan,” Knight said in aFox Businessinterviewin 2016. “He had worn Adidas in his high school games and he liked it, but we came out, we sold him and ultimately he believed in us. And we sold pretty well that day.”

While the company aimed to make $3 million in the first three years, Air Jordans exceeded Nike’s expectations, making $126 million in the first year alone. The sneakers grew into an entire Jordan brand, with Nike releasing a suite of Air products.

The deal would go on to inspire the sports dramaAir, which delves into more detail of the history-changing Air Jordans.

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In a March 2023 appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!, Affleck shared that he flew to Oregon to show Knight the movie before it aired on the big screen. Though he was nervous to see Knight’s reaction, the former Nike CEO enjoyed the movie and was “remarkably gracious.”

Affleck explained to Kimmel that the goal wasn’t to make a documentary, but a comedic take on the negotiations, so the story wouldn’t be completely accurate — which Knight pointed out to him.

He wrote a book about his life and professional accomplishments

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In 2016, Knight released a memoir,Shoe Dog, about his personal life and how he founded Nike. He defined a “shoe dog” as someone who devotes their life to buying, making and selling shoes.

The book touches on the more sensitive aspects of his life, including the loss of his son in 2004. He also shared the background of some of Nike’s iconic moments, from the creation of the “swoosh” logo to how the company lost its initial contract with Japanese shoemaker Onitsuka Co and rebranded as Nike.

Shoe Dogultimately made theNew York Times’bestsellers listand found success among shoe lovers and aspiring business leaders worldwide.

He is the owner of a stop-motion animation studio

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He stepped down from Nike in 2016

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Knight announced he was stepping down as the chairman of Nike in June 2015, and officially retired exactly one year later, according toForbes.

Knight named Mark Parker, the CEO of Nike, as his successor in the role, though he added he would continue to be involved with the company as chairman emeritus.

“For me, Nike has always been more than just a company — it has been my life’s passion,” Knight said in a statement at the time. “Over the years, I’ve spent a great deal of time considering how I might someday evolve my ownership and leadership of Nike in a way that benefits all of our stakeholders.”

In 2016, Knight sold his two votes to his son Travis, who also joined Nike’s board of directors, perForbes.

source: people.com