eCommerce Strategy Consultant - Rick Watson - RMW Commerce Consulting

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Is John Donahoe the Right Choice for Nike's CEO?

Now that the dust has settled for a few minutes on the #Nike John Donahoe announcement, time to pose an existential question.

Is Nike a digital organization that happens to sell shoes, or is it a shoe company with some technology assets?

With how quickly the market moves, if you are not transforming you are dead. Let's review a few major eBay-related Donahoe decisions:

  • He made more than 40 acquisitions during his time at eBay. Some are being spun out now sure (some quaint now - shopping - others related but not core: Stubhub), but how many CEOs have the same level of experience?

  • He was CEO of both eBay and Paypal for 10 years, which gives him a perch into digital payments for a long time as well. I thought this was an interesting angle.

  • During the Donahoe era, eBay was a leader in a massively growing new field: mobile eCommerce. Ahead of every single one of its rivals. This is something I recall as one of the pillars of his time there.

  • During his time, John and the Board made the decision to spin out Paypal which for investors was either going to happen or be forced to happen by an activist later anyway.

Put it this way, if Nike has a company full of shoe experts to help, and is also in desperate need of a digital transformation - an intriguing choice.