Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire, and the co-founder and Chairman of athletic apparel maker Nike. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board. As of 2008, Knight's stake in Nike gave him an estimated net worth of US$10.5 billion, making him the 31st richest American.2
A graduate of the University of Oregon and Stanford Graduate School of Business, he has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the schools. Knight gave the largest donation in history at the time to Stanford's business school in 2006. A native Oregonian, he ran track for coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, with whom he would co-found Nike.
Early years
Phil Knight was born February 24, 1938 in Portland, Oregon, the son of a lawyer and future newspaper publisher.3 Knight attended Cleveland High School in Portland and then the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta ("FIJI") fraternity and earned a journalism degree in 1959.3 He was a middle-distance runner at the school under track coach Bill Bowerman and ran a personal best 4:10 mile,4 winning varsity letters for track in 1957, 1958, and 1959.
Budding entrepreneur
Right after graduating from Oregon, Knight enlisted in the Army and served one year on active duty and seven years in the Army Reserve.3 After the year of active duty, he enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business.3 In Frank Shallenberger's Small Business class, Knight developed a love affair with something besides sports - he discovered he was an entrepreneur. Knight recalls in a Stanford Magazine article3 "That class was an 'aha!' moment" ... "Shallenberger defined the type of person who was an entrepreneur--and I realized he was talking to me. I remember after saying to myself: 'This is really what I would like to do.' " In this class Knight needed to create a business plan. His paper, "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?", essentially was the premise to his foray into selling running shoes. He graduated with a Masters of Business Administration from the school in 1962.3
Knight set out on a trip around the world after graduation, during which he made a stop in Kobe, Japan in November 1962. It was there he discovered Tiger brand running shoes, manufactured in Kobe by the Onitsuka Co. So impressed with the quality and low cost, Knight made a cold call on Mr. Onitsuka, who agreed to meet with the young American.citation needed By the end of the meeting, Knight had secured distribution rights for the western United States for Tiger running shoes.
The first Tiger samples would take more than a year to be shipped to Knight, during which time he found a job as an accountant in Portland, Oregon. When Knight finally received the shoe samples, he mailed two pairs to Bill Bowerman in Eugene in the hope of gaining a sale and an influential endorsement.citation needed To Knight's surprise, Bowerman not only ordered the Tiger shoes, he offered to become a partner with Knight and would provide some design ideas for better running shoes. The two men shook hands on a partnership on January 25, 1964, the birthdate of Blue Ribbon Sports, forerunner to Nike.5
Nike's origin
Knight's first sales were made out of a now legendary green Plymouth Valiant at track meets across the Pacific Northwest. By 1969, these early sales allowed Knight to leave his accountant job and work full time for Blue Ribbon Sports.
It was Jeff Johnson, a friend of Knight's, who suggested the name Nike.citation needed Nike is named after the Greek winged goddess of victory. Nike's logo, now considered one of the most powerful logos in the world, was commissioned for a mere $35 from Carolyn Davidson.citation needed According to Nike's website, Knight stated "I don't love it, but it will grow on me." However, in 1983 (Nike went public in 1980), Davidson was given an undisclosed amount of stock from Knight and Nike for her contribution to the company's brand.
Philanthropy
In 2000, Knight was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame for his Special Contribution to Sports in Oregon.6 Knight is believed to have contributed approximately $230 million to the University of Oregon, the majority of which was for athletics.7 On August 18, 2007, Knight announced that he and his wife, Penny, would be donating an additional $100 million to the University of Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund.8 This donation is reportedly the largest in the University's history.
However, Knight's contributions to the Athletic department at U of O have not come without controversy.9 His significant contributions have granted him influence and access atypical of an athletic booster. In addition to the "best seats in the house" for any U of O athletic event, he has his own personalized locker in the football team's locker room, and an athletic building named for him (the library is named for his mother; the law school is named for his father). However, most controversial was his successful lobbying to have his friend and former insurance salesman, Pat Kilkenny, named as Athletic Director.10 Kilkenny, another wealthy athletic booster, has neither a college degree nor any germane experience. Kilkenny attended but did not graduate from the University of Oregon. The former chairman and chief executive officer of the San Diego-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, he grew his business into a nationwide organization with written premiums of nearly $1 billion when he sold the company in 2006.11 ESPN's "Outside the Lines" spotlighted Knight and his donation-backed influence on U of O athletics on an April 6, 2008 episode.
In 2006, Phil Knight donated $105 million to Stanford GSB - at the time the largest donation to a business school in history.12 Knight also provided monetary support to his high school alma mater Cleveland High School for their new track, football field, and gymnasium.
In October 2008, Knight and his wife Penny donated $100 million to the OHSU Cancer Institute, the largest gift in the history of Portland's Oregon Health & Science University.13 To honor the Knights' generosity, the university renamed its cancer institute the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.13
Later years
Knight resigned as the company's CEO November 18, 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board.1415 He was replaced by William Perez, former CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., who was in turn replaced by Mark Parker in 2006.16 He gained control of Will Vinton Studios in 2002, and changed the name to LAIKA.citation needed LAIKA released their first feature film (stop motion) Coraline in February 2009.
References
- ^ "#52 Philip Knight". The World's Billionaires. Forbes.com. March 11, 2009. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Philip-Knight_2KZ5.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-27.
- ^ "#31 Philip Knight". The 400 Richest Americans. Forbes.com. September 17, 2008. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/54/400list08_Philip-Knight_2KZ5.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b c d e f Krentzman, Jackie (1997). "The Force Behind the Nike Empire". Stanford Magazine. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1997/janfeb/articles/knight.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ "Notable Oregonians: Phil Knight - Innovator, Business Leader". Oregon Blue Book. http://bluebook.state.or.us/notable/notknight.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ www.nikebiz.com
- ^ "Special Contribution to Sports". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. http://www.oregonsportshall.com/inductee/roll/specialCont.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Bachman, Rachel (May 4, 2008). "Phil Knight's influence transforms University of Oregon athletics". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1209711308201850.xml&coll=7&thispage=2. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Bellamy, Ron (August 20, 2007). "Knights to give major gift to UO". Eugene Register Guard. http://www.registerguard.com/rgn/index.php/sports_updates/more/knights_to_give_major_gift_to_uo/. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Fish, Mike (January 13, 2006). "Just do it!". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2285500. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ [1]OTL: Phil Knight and Oregon. 6 April 2008
- ^ "Oregon Names Kilkenny Athletic Director". GoDucks.com. 14 February 2007. http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&ATCLID=796552&SPID=252&SPSID=3797. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Tom, Christian L. (September 19, 2006). "Nike Founder Donates $105 million to GSB". The Stanford Daily. http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2006/9/19/nikeFounderDonates105MillionToGsb. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ a b Sickinger, Ted (November 4, 2008). "In Knight's gift, OHSU sees recruiting jackpot". The Oregonian.
- ^ Peterson, Anne M. (November 19, 2004). "Nike's Phil Knight resigns as CEO". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002095212_nike19.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Dash, Eric (November 19, 2004). "Founder of Nike to Hand Off Job to a New Chief". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/business/19nike.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
- ^ Barbaro, Michael; Dash, Eric (January 24, 2006). "Another Outsider Falls Casualty to Nike's Insider Culture". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/business/24nike.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
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