Thomas E. Clarke has resigned from the Nike Inc. Board of Directors. Mr. Clarke, 53, will continue to serve the company in his current role as president of New Business Ventures. Clarke’s departure makes room on the Board for Nike’s new president and CEO William D. Perez, keeping the total number of directors remains at 10, including two executive directors — Mr. Perez and Nike Chairman Philip H. Knight.
“I cannot thank Tom enough for his contributions to the board during the past 10 years. His knowledge and passion for Nike have been invaluable to me and the board,” Mr. Knight said. “Tom will now devote all of his energies to helping Bill continue to build our non-Nike brand business.”
Mr. Clarke joined Nike in 1980. He was appointed vice president of marketing in 1987, corporate vice president in 1989, general manager in 1990 and served as president and chief operating officer from 1994 to 2000. He was appointed to the Nike Board of Directors in 1994. He also serves on the board of Newell Rubbermaid.
“With Bill’s arrival, it just makes for good corporate governance that we keep the number of management directors at an appropriate level,” Mr. Clarke said. “I have been honored to serve Nike as a director as we have successfully worked our way through a series of global business challenges that have resulted in our current record performance.”
