Contents
Phil Knight
Co-founding Nike with running coach Bill Bowerman.
Nike · Laika
- Born
- 24 February 1938
- Birthplace
- Portland, United States
More people
Phil Knight
Phil Knight is an American businessman who helped turn a running-shoe importer into Nike. His later investments include the animation studio Laika.
Early life
Oregon runner
Ran middle distances at the University of Oregon under Bill Bowerman.
Business education
Studied business at Oregon and then Stanford, where a paper explored importing Japanese running shoes.
Career
- 1964
Blue Ribbon Sports
Formed the shoe business with Bowerman.
- 1971
Nike brand
The business began introducing shoes under the Nike name.
- 1980
Public company
Nike went public as its business expanded.
- 2016
Chairman emeritus
Stepped down as chairman.
Companies & projects
Nike
Co-founded and led the sports footwear and apparel company.
Laika
Backed the stop-motion animation studio behind Coraline.
Shoe Dog
Published a memoir of building the business.
Beyond work
Education and medicine
Made major donations to Oregon, Stanford and Oregon Health & Science University.
Family
Married Penny Parks in 1968; their son Travis became a filmmaker and studio executive.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nike company archives ↗Photo: Tom Matthyssens. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
.jpg){kind=link}