USA: Knight Becomes Nike President

Nike on Monday named company President Tom Clarke chief of new business ventures for the athletic shoe and clothing maker, leaving chairman and founder Phil Knight with the added title of president.The Clarke position was created to put additional "horsepower" behind company growth plans, Knight said.Clarke, 48, joined Nike in 1980 and has been president and chief operating officer since 1994. He takes over the new post June 1."Tom has demonstrated a talent for driving change and innovation at Nike," Knight said. "I can think of no one better suited to help answer the question: 'What's next for Nike?"'Under Clarke's leadership as company president, Nike saw its revenues more than double from $4 billion to more than $9 billion.The change will mean that Knight will be more involved in day-to-day management of the Beaverton-based company, said spokeswoman Corby Casler."But he seems to get more energized the older he gets," Casler said of the 62-year-old Knight.Casler said the new position for Clarke had been planned for some time.Knight had twice served as Nike president. He held the position from the company's start until 1983, when Robert Woodell was named president.Two years later, Knight stepped in again as president, giving up the title in 1990 to Richard Donahue, who is a current Nike board member. Donahue served as president until 1994.