The sporting goods industry has had a few days to absorb the news last week that Phil Knight, Nike, Inc. co-founder, chairman, president and CEO, was stepping down from the president and CEO role at the end of the year. He will remain chairman of the Board of Directors. The appointment of his successor, William Perez, who has been president and CEO of privately-held S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. since 1996, was a surprise in that Knight and the board tapped an outsider instead of someone from the deep bench at Nike.

The board started its search early in 2003, reportedly aimed at re-filling the COO post held most recently by Dr. Tom Clarke. Word is that Knight and the Board soon learned that elevating the search to CEO would raise the caliber of candidates considerably.

The moves clearly signals that Nike, Inc., with more than $12 billion in sales last fiscal year, has crossed the threshold from a sneaker company to a global conglomerate of consumer brands. Perez, an Akron native that grew up in Columbia, South America, has been with Johnson since 1970, taking on a series of roles of increasing responsibility over the thirty four year period, including stints in Spain and Latin America. While the Johnson business is about half that of Nike, Perez has a deep background in managing and marketing multiple brands under a parent company’s strong brand name.

Perez has been a member of the Board of Directors of Kellogg Company since 1999. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Hallmark Cards, Inc. and Grocery Manufacturers of America. He previously served as a director of May Department Stores until May 2004.

While Nike is seen as somewhat of a closed society, most note the recent successful transitions with Mindy Grossman, who came in from Ralph Lauren to run Nike Apparel, and CFO Don Blair as indicators that outsiders can succeed. Perez, after all, has been running a family business, experience that will help a great deal when working with those at Nike that will point to “the way it’s always been done”.

The first concern for many in the market is how this will be seen and absorbed by Nike brand co-presidents Charlie Denson and Mark Parker. Both, along with Blair, have increasingly been the face of the company to the market. They may be required to take a step back on the stage as Perez starts to speak for Inc. while they maintain their control of the Brand. Still not bad work if you can get it.

While some have likened this to other events that signaled a passing of the torch through a long-term succession strategy, this should probably more likely be seen as a signal that Nike, Inc. is now writing the next chapter in its history as an international multi-brand consumer goods business within striking distance of $20 billion in revenues.