Nike Taps Industry Veteran: Aaron Cain Steps Up as Converse Chief

Nike is renewing the management of its Converse brand and, to do so, it is turning to another veteran of the company. The U.S. group has announced the appointment of Aaron Cain, who has been with the company for 21 years, to head the division. The change in Converse’s front line is in addition to those made in the group’s organizational chart since Elliott Hill was appointed CEO at the end of last year.

Converse’s new CEO takes over from Jared Carver, who is stepping down after two years in the position. According to Bloomberg, Cain and Carver will work together until the end of April to ensure a smooth transition.

Cain’s career at Nike began in 2004, when he joined the swoosh giant as director of strategy, a position from which he rose through the ranks and changed territories, eventually heading different lines in China and Europe. Since 2021 he has held the general management of Nike men’s.

Converse ended fiscal year 2024 (ended in May) with a turnover of $1,692 million, a 19% decline compared to the previous year, when the business generated by the brand exceeded $2,000 million. Converse posted a pre-tax profit of $240 million, 49% less than twelve months earlier.

Converse ended 2024 with a 19% drop in sales and a 49% reduction in profit

At the end of 2024, Nike began a restructuring process that started with the removal of the previous CEO, John Donahoe, and the appointment of Elliott Hill as chief executive. Since then, from the fifteen direct reports he inherited from Donahoe, Hill has changed to eleven.

The U.S. company, the world’s number one in the sports industry, ended 2024 with a 44% plunge in net income and a 10% drop in sales. Net income at the end of 2024 stood at $3.219 billion, compared to the $5.7 billion it earned in 2023.

At the same time, Nike’s sales fell below the $50 billion mark, from $51.362 billion in 2023 to $46.309 billion in the last fiscal year.

Nike’s new CEO has introduced a new strategy called Win Now, which is based on five sports disciplines, three countries and five cities, with running, basketball, soccer, training and sportswear as priority sports, starting in the United States, China and the United Kingdom and focusing on New York, Los Angeles, London, Beijing and Shanghai.