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The Intern Who Became CEO
The bait and switch, getting snubbed and the magic quadrant
Howie Chan
September 22, 2024
Welcome to Legend Letters - A rebellion against the ordinary, where you redefine success and live your version of legendary.
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HEARTSET
Elliott Hill worked at Nike from 1988 to 2020. He rose through the ranks from a sales intern to the President of Consumer and Marketplace. Just a few days ago, he is named as the incoming CEO.
Image from LinkedIn
(Fun fact: when Elliott joined in 1988, it was right when Nike launched the iconic Just Do It ad campaign. The first commercial done by Nike. Watch here)
Want to know the real story of why he left in 2020?
When Mark Parker stepped down in 2020 as CEO, Elliott was the top man for the job, but instead of giving him the keys to the Nike kingdom, they brought in John Donahue, an outsider, an ex-Ebay President and ex-Bain CEO.
Many executives left, including Elliott. He was essentially snubbed by leadership and the Nike board. He went on to serve in several boards and co-founded the Austin Moontowers, a local baseball club in 2021.
Fast forward to 2024, Nike is reeling from one of the worst days in the past 4 years of trading, and they announced the early end of John’s 5 year contract and that Elliott will comeback from retirement to lead the company.
A glorious moment of return I’d say! The immediate result? Share prices jumped 10%!
“Nike employees are jubilant”
But he has a tough job, righting a big ship is no easy task and until weeks ago, he didn’t even want the job.
Elliott though, is known as a person who puts people and potential over ego and hardwork.
When asked in an interview what was a pivot point in his career, he said this:
“I did a job that everybody thought I was crazy and on paper it was crazy for me to do, but Nike asked me to do it. And I was a good teammate and so said yes. And I went and did it and helped turn around a business, helped reshape the vision for that business, reshaped the team and the dynamics on that team, and we delivered.”
What’s even more amazing is that Elliott didn’t develop this mindset over years of being in leadership positions, he had it from day one.
Everything you read online shows that he started at Nike as an intern, but what most people don’t know was that he didn’t expect it as an internship, he thought it was a “real” job. He actually held out for Nike and his entire graduating class already had jobs except for him.
How would you feel if you waited 6 months for Nike, becomes the last person in class to get a job, only to find out that it wasn’t an actual job? Most people would be pissed and declined the internship because of that bait and switch.
But Elliott isn’t most people.
He said yes (except he told his mum that it WAS a real job 😅).
And he promptly did the best job he could do as an intern and more. The rest is history.
MINDSET
Be willing to do the things others won’t. Soon, you’ll be able to do the things others can’t.
SKILLSET
After going through articles and translating some of her interviews, here are the 5 lessons we can ALL use to live our version of legendary:
1/ Know your core values
Elliott was raised by a single mother when his dad came out that he was gay, back in the 60s. He lived in a middle class, working class neighborhood, and was able to cultivate his core values through his mother’s upbringing.
Commitment, dedication, loyalty.
Those were the values he held dear to his heart, from an early age and throughout his career at Nike.
What are yours?
2/ Embark on experiences that open your mind
Piecing together some scholarship money and loans, Elliott embarked on an adventure at age 18, leaving Austin to attend TCU (Texas Christian University). There he experienced a different world and was exposed to a different level of living.
“All of a sudden, it was like, wait, people had that kind of money? Wait, people go on vacations? At first I was a little overwhelmed, I didn’t feel like I fit in. Then I realized we are the same.”
It was really his first job that her credited with truly opening his eyes. He was pleasantly surprised when he was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant trainer and through the couple of years, brought him to places (London, NYC, etc.) and gave him experiences that opened up his world.
“We all have these moments in our lives where a door opens up and you choose to enter that door. this case, it happened to be the Dallas Cowboys… they opened up my world.”
3/ Find a place where you belong
Magic happens when your values align with the values of the company your work in. For Elliott, he knew it right after he wrote a paper about it as he was graduating from his masters in sports administration.
“I went to Nike for the product, the marketing, the brand. I stayed for the people and the culture”
I love this description below about Nike because it is exactly how you picture it to be and that’s why their a great brand, because what they project externally is 100% aligned to what’s going on internally.
“The company was founded by a coach and an athlete. And I think team came first. It's not about I or me. It's about we and us. If we win, I win. Period. So the people that succeeded at Nike understood that. It's about the team. Number one. Number two, we were athletes and we were always trying to get better. We would run an ad, launch a shoe, and we'd immediately go, we could have done this, this, this, and this better. We were relentless and self -critical. Number three, we like to compete and compete and win.”
4/ Pay it forward
Elliott has done his fair share of charity work. What I’m even more impressed about is him spending time mentoring and coaching others, spending time (more precious than money) with young people.
There is surprising little information out there about Elliott Hill, but what I managed to dig up was this low production video of him doing a Facebook Live with one of his mentees. It was a gem and speaks to him as a person walking the talk.
“I’ve always been incredibly grateful for the people who pulled me through the system. At no point do I think I did it on my own. I do it because it’s the right thing to do and it feels good”
5/ Adjust your life for the second half (the magic quadrant)
I love this one.
Elliott talks about a book Half-time, that was given to him by a mentor and it changed how he thought about and planned his life. The gist is this:
Think of your life in two halves, like a game.
First half: acquisition (working really hard, acquiring wealth)
Second half: adjustment (more purposeful)
Elliott, when he was forty started to think about how he needed to adjust his life in the second half. So he drew up a circle with 4 quadrants:
Family
Friends
Me
Extra curricular
And he would write down the people and the activities that most mattered to him. As an example, for family it would be “home every night for dinner” or “leave work at 3pm on Tuesdays to be assistant coach of kids team”.
He would do that for each quadrant and made sure his team and his admin knew about them, so there were no surprises.
He called his second half: purpose and balance
Even though he was still working 60+ hour weeks, he we more purposeful about living it in a more balanced way.
What’s ONE thing you’ll take action on?
I’m thinking about experiences. Ones that will open my mind and meet more like minded people. It’s something I will invest in for 2025. What’s YOUR one thing?
Make your mark, live your legend 🤘🏽,
Howie Chan
Creator of Legend Letters
Sources:
FORTitude FW Podcast Elliott Hill, The Nike Empire, YouTube, December, 2023 - LINK
Wilson, Mark, Who is Nike’s new CEO? Elliott Hill - Many Old Employee’s Favorite Pick for the Job, Fast Company, September 20, 2024 - LINK
Episode 2: Elliott Hill, Former Nike Executive, Mansanomics, Facebook Live, January 10, 2021 - LINK
How Elliott Hill Went From An Intern to Nike’s CEO, NDTV World, September 20, 2024 - LINK
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