With one of the most recognizable logos in the world Nike is an immovable force of twenty-first century athletics. When children begin playing sports at a young age, they are inducted into a world that is almost entirely run by Nike, with their shoes, clothes, bags, and other equipment likely identified by the famous “swoosh.” But in this day and age, Nike has evolved into something much bigger, and has most recently dug its hand into the tech world with the introduction of Nike+ and other developments across the board in stat tracking, personal fitness, and more.
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And with the hiring of Adam Sussman as its first Chief Digital Officer, Nike is signaling that everything it has done so far in the tech world is just the beginning. It’s no longer a secret that the future of the sports world lies in the digital realm; and it is a huge step into that future for Nike to hire someone entirely in charge of digital and set to report directly to the president of Nike. Nike’s hiring of a CDO is also likely to be followed by similar hirings in the industry, as other sports giants like Gatorade and Under Armour look to expand their share of the sports-tech space with launches of new connected products.
Realistically, though, this hiring should be viewed more as response to a necessity for Nike than as an unprecedented decision that deserves praise. For a sports company such as Nike to not put a person in charge of its digital activities would serve as a detriment to the company, which has the potential to truly dominate the sports-tech space in the way it dominates essentially every other sports space. Nike itself has made clear that it wants to reach $50 billion in revenue by the end of 2020 — which is more than a 160% increase from where the company currently sits — and if Nike is serious about reaching that goal, it’s only logical for the company to hire a CDO that should be viewed as the face of Nike’s future.
What remains to be seen is how Nike’s hiring does actually impact the rest of the industry. Will companies like Gatorade, Under Armour, Adidas, and a few select others, which do impact the sports-tech space, follow suit and accelerate the future in the same way Nike did? Unless they don’t mind Nike running circles around them, they definitely should, because Nike has already started on its first lap.