Nike names former executive Elliott Hill as CEO

Nike ( NKE ) named a new CEO on Thursday, sending its stock up nearly 10 percent in after-hours trading as the company tries to revive sluggish sales growth amid increased competition.

Elliott Hill, a former Nike executive who retired in 2020, will return to the company as CEO and chairman on October 14. John Donahoe, Nike’s current CEO, will step down as of October 13 and remain an advisor to the company until January. 2025.

Prior to his retirement, Hill served as president of Nike’s consumer and market businesses, leading commercial and marketing operations for Nike and the Jordan brand.

“Given our needs for the future, the past performance of the business and after conducting a careful succession process, the Board has concluded that it is clear Elliott’s global expertise, leadership style and deep understanding of the industry and our partners, together with the passion his passion for sports, our brands, products, consumers, athletes and employees make him the right person to lead Nike’s next stage of growth,” Mark Parker, Nike’s executive chairman, said in a press release.

The news comes as Nike shares have stumbled this year, falling more than 25 percent amid slowing revenue growth and concerns about the success of the company’s pivot to direct-to-consumer sales.

“This is very good news for the stock, both the name of the executive and the timing,” Bernstein senior analyst Aneesha Sherman told Yahoo Finance. “Elliott Hill has worked at Nike for 32 years. He is a product guy. He ran retail in (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and the US in North America. He knows the company and the product very well.”

Shares fell 20 percent in June when the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and said it expected revenue to fall more than previously thought next year. The company said fourth-quarter quarterly revenue fell 2 percent from a year earlier to $12.61 billion, below Wall Street estimates of $12.86 billion. Meanwhile, Nike’s earnings per share of $0.99 beat analysts’ expectations of $0.66. Nike’s direct-to-consumer sales fell 8 percent from the same quarter a year ago to $5.1 billion.

Wall Street has been closely watching Nike’s product manufacturing as the Oregon company works to fend off competition in the core athletic footwear market from rivals like Adidas ( ADDYY ) and parents like On ( ONON ) and the Deckers brand ( DECK) Hoka.

Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow X @_joshschafer.

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