Nike Reshuffles: Key Changes in Commercial and IT, Geographical Units Gain Prominence

More changes in Nike’s top management. The sportswear retail giant’s former chief commercial officer, Craig Williams, is leaving the company after a seven-year tenure. So does chief operating officer Muge Dogan, who has been with the company for two years. With these moves, Nike is moving forward with its reorganization, undertaken last year by Elliott Hill, who was appointed CEO to steer the group’s direction.

On the other hand, the company’s supply chain director, Venkatesh Alagirisamy, will take over as executive vice president and chief operating officer as of December 8th, according to an open letter to the staff, to which WWD has had access.

With the departure of Williams, who will remain with the company until April 6 next year, the position of executive vice president and chief commercial officer is eliminated. Also eliminated is the executive vice president position linked to technology management with the departure of Muge Dogan.

Alagirisamy has a career spanning nearly 20 years at Nike. With his appointment, he will move to lead technology while maintaining his responsibilities in supply chain, planning, operations, manufacturing and sustainability. With this change, Nike aims to make technology the backbone of the rest of the company’s business.

Alagirisamy has been with Nike for almost 20 years

In addition,the leaders of the four geographic regions in which Nike operates will report to CEO Eliott Hill: Angela Dong, China; Carl Grebert, Emea (Europe, Middle East and Africa); Tom Peddie, North America; and Cathy Sparks, Apla (Asia-Pacific and Latin America). With this move, Nike will regain the local connection it has lost in recent years.

The global sales and Nike Direct teams will report to executive vice president and CFO Matt Friend. Hill noted that this change “ensures that insights from stores, digital platforms and wholesalers directly influence corporate decisions.“

Nike has been immersed for months in a dynamic of profound changes in its management structure. Among the most notable departures is that of Jaycee Pribulsky, who until September was the group’s chief sustainability officer.

Nike, in the midst of restructuring after two years of weak performance, closed the first quarter of the current fiscal year with a 1% increase in sales, surprising the market after a string of down quarters. In the period ended August 31st, the swoosh company posted sales of $11.72 billion, up 1% from $11.589 billion in the same period. Nike ended 2024 with a 10% drop in sales, down 12% in the fourth quarter.