markparker - serve the athlete

7/23/2019 MarkParker - Serve the Athlete

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WSJ. Magazines 2015 Brand Innovator oversees his global

business with one goal in mind: Serve the athlete

ByKarl Taro Greenfeld|Photographs by Graeme Mitchell for WSJ. Magazine

MARK PARKER, CEOand president ofNike, thinks in sneakers. Not just of

sneakers, or about sneakerswhen he thinks, he actually sees sneakers. Hell be out

to dinner with his wife, Kathy Mills Parker, a former world record holder in the ,!!!

meters, and will be listenin" to her describe her day and what their three "rown

children are up to, but what hell be doin" is drawin" sneakers on the tablecloth. #My

wife will "o, $%ou know, youre drawin" a shoe ri"ht now, & Parker says. #' do that

all the time.&

(hen there is a sketch, not of a sneaker but of part of a sneaker, made in a recentmeetin" durin" which Parker and his senior mana"ement were discussin" the )arious

competitors who were takin" bites out of Nike, which Parker illustrated as a Nike

swoosh with little Pac*Men labeled #+didas,& #ans& and #-kechers& chompin" away

tiny bits of the lo"o. #' think )ery )isually. ' sort of remembered seein" this )ideo of

this blue whale bein" attacked by a pack of killer whales, and it was totally

fascinatin". lue whales lumberin" throu"h and then this whole pod of killer whales

comes up and startsthey had this whole strate"y for how they were "oin" to take

this blue whale down.&

Nike CEO Mark Parker is both a visual thinker and an inspiring leader who continues to focus on creating the future.A film by Mediatorm

WSJ. MAGAZINE 2015 INNOVATORS
http://topics.wsj.com/person/P/MARK-PARKER/403http://quotes.wsj.com/NKEhttp://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/WSJ-magazine-innovators-awards/http://quotes.wsj.com/NKEhttp://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/WSJ-magazine-innovators-awards/http://topics.wsj.com/person/P/MARK-PARKER/403


2/13

ENLARGE

Angelina !olie Pitt

"ichard erra

#arl Ove #nausgaard

Miuccia Prada $homas %eatherwick

tewart &utterfield

Mark Parker

He doesnt necessarily mean to make an analo"y about Nike as a blue whale. 'f he did

in the drawin", its because, as he says, )isuali/in" is often how he fi"ures out what he

is actually thinkin". +nd what hes thinkin" is that theres no way Nike is "oin" down

like a blue whale in a pod of orcas. Parkers leadership in desi"n, product

de)elopment, manufacturin", distribution and a host of other areas has Nike steadilyincreasin" its own market share and outpacin" the "rowth of its own industry. 'f those

orcas dont stand a chance, its because of ideas concei)ed and sketched here in this

office.
http://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/WSJ-magazine-innovators-awards/http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-examined-life-of-angelina-jolie-pitt-1446687750http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-reinvented-visions-of-richard-serra-1446687924http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-karl-ove-knausgaard-cant-stop-writing-1446688727http://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-miuccia-pradas-process-1446689350http://www.wsj.com/articles/thomas-heatherwicks-adaptive-designs-1446689067http://www.wsj.com/articles/slack-ceo-stewart-butterfield-on-changing-the-way-we-work-1446689564http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-mark-parker-keeps-nike-in-the-lead-1446689666http://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/WSJ-magazine-innovators-awards/http://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/WSJ-magazine-innovators-awards/http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-examined-life-of-angelina-jolie-pitt-1446687750http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-reinvented-visions-of-richard-serra-1446687924http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-karl-ove-knausgaard-cant-stop-writing-1446688727http://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-miuccia-pradas-process-1446689350http://www.wsj.com/articles/thomas-heatherwicks-adaptive-designs-1446689067http://www.wsj.com/articles/slack-ceo-stewart-butterfield-on-changing-the-way-we-work-1446689564http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-mark-parker-keeps-nike-in-the-lead-1446689666


3/13

Parkers office at Nike head0uarters, in ea)erton, 1re"on, is famously eclectic, with

portions of his )ast art collection on display2 Murakami, 3arhol, a framed, cartoonish

+braham 4incoln by Mark 5yden in an intricately car)ed frame, a peacock sculpture,

two 1re"on 6ucks helmets and a (iffany lamp. (heres also an elaborate and

carefully framed insect collection, to which Parker holds up a prototype sneaker withwhat appears to be a jewel*encrusted solea track shoe, still top secret, with synthetic

stones instead of spikes, which will be un)eiled at the 5io de 7aneiro 1lympics ne8t

year. (he insects, with their bri"ht carapaces, were an inspiration for the sneaker, he

says. +nd was the (iffany lamp, a"ainst which Parker ne8t holds the sneakers sole,

another influence9 He shru"s. #' do most of my drawin" ri"ht here.&


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5/13

:N4+5;:

'())*CO("$ P"E + Parker at the Nike campus in &eaverton, Oregon. ince he became CEO in -/, annualrevenue has doubled, from 012 billion to 03./ billion.

(he

and cal)es, an unlikely build for a distance runner who ran competiti)ely in hi"h

school in =airfield >ounty, >onnecticut, and then at Penn -tate. His father, ruce

Parker, was an industrial en"ineer at 'Mdurin" that companys creati)e heyday, as

well as an a)id sailor, competiti)e state*le)el runner and constant tinkerer who could

fi8 anythin". Parker attributes his own )aried interests and pursuitshe is a

compulsi)e collector of art, of cars, of architectural modelsto both his fathers

curiosity and his paternal "randmothers thirst for knowled"e. #-he would take me on

walks throu"h the woods and point out plants and say what phylum and species. -he

was a hu"e influence. +t Nike, we ha)e a set of "uidin" principles, and one of those

was directly inspired by her, and thats $e a spon"e, soak in e)erythin" around you.4ook deeply. 1bser)in" is really the fuel to inno)atin", ultimately.&

3ith the intention of becomin" a )eterinarian, Parker started studyin" science in

colle"e, met his wife there and soon became interested in desi"n, in part because he

became obsessed with makin" a better runnin" shoe. 'n a story that is a direct echo of

Nike co*founder ill owermans pourin" rubber into a waffle iron to create a newer,

better sneaker sole, within a couple of years Parker, ?,!!! miles away, was doin" the

same thin"2 e8perimentin" with )arious rubbers and waffle patterns and "luin" the

results onto the bottom of his +sics in pursuit of a faster marathon time. +ll of it was

first sketched in notebooks he carried with him compulsi)ely, neat little sneakers

drawn on "raph paper.

He joined Nike soon after colle"e, workin" in :8eter, New Hampshire, and was

immediately desi"nin" sneakers in a start*up*like en)ironment. Nike, in the late @!s,

was hardly the ju""ernaut it would become. ack then, bein" a Nike desi"ner meant

that Parker was not only drawin" shoes, but also workin" with manufacturin"

partners, e8perimentin" with new rubber and synthetic leathers, concei)in" of

marketin" campai"ns and testin" products with actual athletesalthou"h back then,before Michael 7ordan or >arl 4ewis were Nike athletes, that could mean -te)e the

intern slippin" on a pair and "oin" for a jo". #3e were doin" it all,& Parker says.

#>onceptuali/in", creatin". Puttin" it on an athlete, "ettin" all that feedback and then

modifyin". (he whole process was a )ery ti"ht loop.&
http://quotes.wsj.com/IBMhttp://quotes.wsj.com/IBM


6/13

(hat same holistic approach to sneakers informs Parkers role at Nike todayin A!!:1e)en if the process is now spread out o)er tens

of thousands of Nike employees. His job, as he sees it, is to synthesi/e all that input

and e)en more, includin" cost pressures, public relations issues, the needs and wants

of superstar athletes with multimillion*dollar endorsement deals, the e8i"encies of0uarterly financial reports and the temptation of short*term results o)er lon"*term

inno)ation. #'ts kind of like choreo"raphy. %ou run into $us )ersus them, and people

sayin", $' ha)e a better idea or $Not in)ented in this department, so no. 'nno)ation is

the center of our culture, so we can deal with those thin"s pretty effecti)ely and

naturally throu"h that lens,& Parker says. #ut its always a balancin" act. (here is this

ma"netic pull to focus more on the short term, the immediate, the 0uarter*to*0uarter.

+nd then theres a sense of, f that, we are "oin" to "o out here and really create the

future. +nd we need to do both. ' ha)e to li)e that tension.&IF NIKE DESIGNERScan be credited with creatin" the basic )isual lan"ua"e of the

modern athletic shoe, then Parker is amon" the fathers of that aesthetic. He has been

in)ol)ed in the desi"n of almost e)ery iconic Nike sneaker. (inker Hatfield, who is

often cited as the desi"ner of the best*known +ir 7ordan and +ir Ma8 models, two

foundational sneakers upon which Nikes BC!! billion edifice partially rests, says that

without Parker, his own desi"ns would not ha)e been possible. (he two ha)e been

close friends since CDEC, when Parker con)inced Hatfield, then a corporate architect,

to become a footwear desi"ner. #' met Mark because ' was helpin" desi"n his office

space,& says Hatfield.(he two would form one of the most si"nificant desi"n collaborations in consumer

product history, teamin" up to sketch and concei)e, amon" other sneakers, the +ir

Ma8 C, the first shoe to show a )isible air bubble in its sole, an inno)ation that has

spawned thousands of Nike )ariations and "enerated billions of dollars in re)enue.

#3ere a "ood team,& says Hatfield. #' mi"ht brin" more of an artistic and cultural

approach to the table, whereas Mark is more dri)en by sol)in" the problem and lettin"

the ele"ance of that solution speak for itself.& 3ith the +ir Ma8, Hatfields initial

inspiration came from seein" the >entre Pompidou in Paris, with its inside*outapproach to architecture. ut it was e8chan"in" sketchesmany, many sketches

with Parker that created the iconic sneaker. (he two spent months on the road in CDEristiano 5onaldo, Neymar and 3ayne 5ooney all ha)e

relationships with the brand, and with Nike a close second to +didas in soccer, Parker

sees e)ery 3orld >up as an opportunity to pull ahead. #(hats kind of how we

measure time, in 3orld >ups and 1lympics.&
http://topics.wsj.com/person/R/Cristiano-Ronaldo/6110http://topics.wsj.com/person/R/Cristiano-Ronaldo/6110


9/13


10/13

ENLARGE

Mark Parker

-kateboardin" posed a completely different challen"e. Nike had tried to buy its way

into the skate shoe market once before, in the late D!s, and failed to "ain a foothold in

an industry notoriously a)erse to mainstream marketin". -kate shops were fiercelyloyal to core skate brands. #(hey were like, $3hat the hell9 & Parker says. # $%ou

think you are just "oin" to put a swoosh on a skate*like shoe and were "oin" to

embrace you9 ;ood luck. &

'n the early A!!!s, Parker fi"ured out that the only way for Nike to crack skate was to

hire skaters from outside Nikeprofessionals, like G ;ames champion Paul

5odri"ue/"i)e them their own bud"et and let them build an authentic, "round*up

skate brand inside of Nike. #3e had to let them "o,& Parker says. #3e didnt want to

let our si/e "et in the way there.& Parker belie)es each cate"ory re0uires its own

approach. #=or me,& he says, #its about "ettin" the ri"ht team in place and then

supportin" them.&

ut no matter the sport, Parker insists, #its all about the athlete you ha)e to keep

them in mind all the time, and that means helpin" them actually be in a better position

to reali/e their potential. (hat is really what we do. (hat is sort of the "o)ernor.&

:)en in a company founded on inno)ation, there is the risk that as it "rows to @!,!!!

employees and o)er B?! billion in annual sales, the workplace culture could become

hidebound. (heres a fashion*industry ada"e, #-i/e is the enemy of cool.& %et Parker

has presided o)er a period of steady "rowth and constant inno)ationand

consistently cool productsthat has both sneakerheads and 3all -treet analysts linin"

up to buy kicks and issue buy recommendations. #'ts phenomenal that a mature

brand, one that controls the market share that they do, is able to "row faster than the

industry as a whole,& says Matt Powell, sports industry analyst for the NP6 "roup.

+ccordin" to NP6, the B?I billion sports*footwear market, of which Nike controls Dpercent, e8panded in A!CI at a rate of about < percent, while Nikes re)enue was up

C! percent. -ince Parker took o)er as >:1 in A!!


11/13

#(he bi""est reason Nike is successful today and keeps "rowin" is Mark Parker

balancin" all of these comple8ities,& says Hatfield. #' fall to pieces when the numbers

start flyin", but he is able to decipher all of those thin"s as a businessman and a

marketin" person and a merchandiser, yet he is e0ually adept at talkin" about desi"n

what an athlete wants, what a youn"er customer wantsfrom a style standpoint.&

Mark is a mentor of mine. I can bend his ear onanything. es pretty damn busy but he takes thetime to sit down with me.4#obe &ryant

Parker says its important to allow himself the space to be a #wacky creati)e, to "o off

and not ha)e any re"ard for commercial sensibility. +nd ' think thats 1K sometimes.%ou ha)e to untie those limitations and let it fly and then see where it "oes.& He

reco"ni/es that his desi"ners, technolo"ists and en"ineers also need that space. #%ou

dont want to be ha)in" a con)ersation or an idea tethered to a brief that is all about

)olume and commercialsL. 'f there is somethin" truly out there and "ame chan"in"

and its "oin" to disrupt much of our current formula or approach, people can become

0uite uncomfortable, and thats a trap. 1ne of my bi""est sources of an"st is ha)in"

people so comfortable with a formula that works that they are not challen"in"

themsel)es or their ideas.&

Parker himself lo)es seein" rou"h ideas, prototypes and sketches and is able to see

past a renderin" or poorly fabricated prototype to the underlyin" )irtues of a new idea.

He fre0uently )isits the Nike 5F6 center Jknown as 'nno)ation Kitchen and Nike

-port 5esearch 4abhe can see the buildin" from his officeand will sit in on

desi"n charettes with junior desi"ners where they will work for an hour or two on

sketches incorporatin" a new technolo"y or manufacturin" process. #Mark has a "reat

eye for product,& says Nike chief operatin" officer :ric -prunk, who "i)es as an

e8ample the first prototypes for =lyknit, a manufacturin" process that created thewo)en*fabric upper that now makes up many of Nikes sneakers. +ccordin" to

-prunk, the initial mock*ups were literally socks with foam pads "lued to them. #(hey

were incredibly crude,& says Parker. #Most people would just pass them by.& Hed

made an unsuccessful attempt in A!!!, with the Nike Presto, intended to be #a (*shirt


12/13

for your feet.& ut ad)ances in wea)in" technolo"y by this time had con)inced Parker

that a wo)en*mesh upper was now possible.

(he process took three years, and there were stretches when it seemed as thou"h the

massi)e 5F6 costs would ne)er be recouped. ut Parker was adamant that this was

the ri"ht direction for Nike, from both a bottom*line and an en)ironmental

perspecti)e2 (he wo)en upper meant there was almost no waste in the manufacturin"

process, which sa)ed materialand costs. Plus, the shoe performed. +thletes who

came to Nike and "ot the opportunity to try the product in the 5F6 center lo)ed the

feel of the new sneakers.

Kobe ryant recalls hearin" about =lyknit from Parker fi)e years a"o, when the

technolo"y was first en)isioned for runnin" shoes. ryant is amon" a constant flow ofathletes-erena 3illiams )isited Parker just a few days a"o to re)iew desi"ns for her

new footwear and apparel collectionwho "et to sit in this office and look throu"h

sketches, some of them Parkers own, to brainstorm ideas. #Mark came to me, and we

had to try to fi"ure out how to ha)e it perform in a more dynamic sport, rather than a

strai"ht*ahead sport like runnin",& ryant recalls. #How were we "oin" to do this so it

makes me a better basketball player9 (hat meant makin" the shoe li"hter, car)in" off

a millisecond, maybe more ankle support, more stability. 3e always start there, with

"eeky con)ersations about the nature of the product.& (hen comes what ryant callsthe storytellin" component2 #3here ' am emotionally, where ' am at this point in my

career. 3hat are my "oals9 (he desi"n reflects that. +nd then you tie that to"ether

with the technical aspects.& 'n A!C?, the process resulted in the Kobe D, the first

basketball sneaker to incorporate =lyknit technolo"y. Now you walk into a Nike store,

and there is =lyknit in )irtually e)ery type of sneaker on sale.

SOMETIMES SPACEto create means space to fail, and Parker is 0uick to admit his

shortcomin"s. (here was the ac0uisition of Ombro, the soccer "ear manufacturer,

which Nike bou"ht for B@< million in A!!@ and sold for BAA million in A!CA. (here

was Nike jewelry, a botched licensin" operation. (he company was too early to

introduce trackin" technolo"y in the late E!s, offerin" a product called the Monitor

that wei"hed half a pound and strapped to your waist to tell you your speed and

distance.


13/13

Parker slides one of his notebooks across the coffee table strewn with sneaker catalo"s

and art books. 'ts a "raph paper with sketches of three low*top sneakers, impeccably

rendered, each of them with the =lyknit wea)e drawn in. #Most of these are just

doodles,& he says. He has do/ens of old notebooks at home, but he hasnt kept old

prototypes nor made a conscious effort to preser)e his drawin"s.

:)en so, Parker has fi"ured out a way to moneti/e Nikes past, by sellin" limited*

edition retro )ersions of its sneakers, distributin" them to just a few locations and then

reapin" the free marketin" as hundreds of kids line up in New %ork or (okyo to wait

for the latest Nikes drop. Many of the most popular are desi"ned by Parker himself, as

part of the H(M line, a collaboration with (inker Hatfield and 7apanese cool*hunter

and desi"ner Hiroshi =ujiwara. (he three create e8tremely limited*edition )ersions of

classic Nikes that are not that different from mass*produced Nike sneakers, featurin"different color palettes and little number ta"s. J(here are do/ens of Nike sneakers,

dri)en in part by this artificial scarcity, that sell in the four fi"ures on resale markets.

Parker shru"s when asked about moneti/in" the companys history. #'ts somethin" '

do,& he says, #because ' just really like drawin" sneakers.&

'ts no accident that the ea)erton campus doesnt ha)e a fancy museum de)oted to

Nikes history. (here are e8hibits in )arious buildin"s dedicated to (i"er 3oods,

Michael 7ordan and hundreds of other athletes, but the actual history of Nike isconfined to just one little room with a model of the 3 us that Phil Kni"ht dro)e

around sellin" the companys first sneakers. Parker says thats because of somethin"

that -te)e 7obs once told him when he was )isitin" +pple and noticed they didnt ha)e

a museum. #3hat ' "ot back was, $3ell, we are more focused on the future, & Parker

says. #Past is past.&

TOP

WSJ. Magazine | How Mark Parker Keeps Nike in the Lead

&yKARL TARO GREENFELD

+PHOTOGRAPHS BY GRAEME MITCHELL FOR WSJ. MAGAZINE

Nov. 5, -12 6715 p.m. E$
http://topics.wsj.com/person/W/Tiger-Woods/5666http://topics.wsj.com/person/W/Tiger-Woods/5666http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-mark-parker-keeps-nike-in-the-lead-1446689666http://topics.wsj.com/person/W/Tiger-Woods/5666http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-mark-parker-keeps-nike-in-the-lead-1446689666

markparker - serve the athlete

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