BEAVERTON, Ore. (2 March, 2006) – NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today announced that executive Sandy Bodecker has been named Vice President, Sport Culture, for the Nike brand, a newly created position designed to drive growth of Nike's sport-inspired footwear, apparel and equipment businesses. Bodecker will lead Nike's expanding sport culture opportunity, including action sports and skate. He will have responsibility for strategic leadership and direction, as well as partnering with Nike's product engines and regional management, to grow one of Nike's largest opportunities worldwide. Bodecker will report to Nike brand President Charlie Denson.
Bodecker, 52, is a 23 year Nike veteran known for successfully building new businesses and creating strong connections with retailers and Nike consumers in new categories. Bodecker's leadership firmly established Nike as a leading global soccer brand, helping to build soccer into one of the company's top three sports categories with revenues approaching $1.5 billion. Most recently, Bodecker headed Nike's skate business, driving product innovation and building strong relationships and brand credibility with skate retailers, athletes and consumers.
“Building off of Nike's global strength in sport performance, sport culture is a tremendous growth opportunity for us across all product types," Denson said. “Sport performance inspires sport culture. Sandy will bring greater focus and integration to our evolving efforts over the past few years, enabling us to create more complete and compelling product stories and build deeper relationships with consumers around the world who are inspired by sport.”
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; NIKE Bauer Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan, a leading designer and marketer of luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.