After leading Nike as CEO for more than a decade, Mark Parker now makes way for a new leader to take over. However, he will continue to lead the company's board of directors. As the Chairman of the board's executive chairman, Parker would be working closely with John Donahoe, the newly appointed CEO, who will take over from January. 

The sporting goods giant is now looking to use more technology to boost the company's output and efficiency, and Parker feels that Donahoe’s expertise in digital commerce, technology, global strategy and leadership make him ideally suited to accelerate Nike’s digital transformation.

Besides bringing in the digital expertize Nike needs currently, Donahoe also holds a deep understanding of Nike’s business as he has been on its board since 2014. Currently, John Donahoe is working as President and CEO of ServiceNow. Prior to that he was President & CEO of eBay. From 2008 to 2015 he oversaw the eBay, and eBay Enterprise businesses. During his tenure, eBay Inc’s revenues more than doubled to $18 Bn and market value increased over 250 percent to $80 Bn. 

Now Donahoe has to lead Nike’s business not only towards more growth but more tech-enabled services. He has to step into the shoes of Parker, under whose leadership, Nike sales grew and stock prices soared. In terms of digital transformation, the footwear and apparel company has already beefed up its "Nike Direct" business through smartphone applications and other programs. In the last quarter, its profit jumped up by 25 percentwith$10.7 Bn in revenues.

Nike hiring a leader that comes from a different industry altogether highlights how businesses are looking for more industrial diversity in their leadership. Especially given that more and more companies are now looking to adopt technology to enhance their business, knowledge and experience in the digital space has become a critical aspect to look for when hiring the leader.  

Image source: Vimeo