Donahoe was Nike’s CEO from January 2020 to October 2024. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of ServiceNow, a global software company, and as CEO of eBay. He served as chair of the board at PayPal from 2015-25. Earlier in his career, he worked for Bain & Company for nearly 20 years, including as the firm’s worldwide CEO.
Donahoe earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1986. He now serves on the school’s Advisory Council.
“Stanford occupies a unique place in the national athletics landscape,” Stanford University President Jon Levin said. “We needed a distinctive leader – someone with the vision, judgment, and strategic acumen for a new era of college athletics, and with a deep appreciation for Stanford’s model of scholar-athlete excellence. John embodies these characteristics. We’re grateful he has agreed to lead Stanford Athletics through this critical period in college sports.”
“My north star for 40 years has been servant leadership, and it is a tremendous honor to be able to come back to serve a university I love and to lead Stanford Athletics through a pivotal and tumultuous time in collegiate sports,” Donahoe said. “Stanford has enormous strengths and enormous potential in a changing environment, including being the model for achieving both academic and athletic excellence at the highest levels. I can’t wait to work in partnership with the Stanford team to build momentum for Stanford Athletics and ensure the best possible experiences for our student-athletes.”
