Nike Brand President Charlie Denson today announced five new vice president positions in Asia Pacific, Europe and global sports marketing.
In the Asia Pacific Region, where Nike generated double-digit sales growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2007, Nike named three new vice presidents: Willem Haitink as vice president and general manager for Nike China; Jim Godbout as vice president and general manager for Nike Japan; and Davide Grasso as vice president for Asia Pacific marketing, all reporting to Roland Wolfram, vice president of the Asia Pacific region. In global sports marketing, John Slusher has been named vice president of sports marketing for both Asia Pacific and the Americas. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Region, DeeDee Wilson has been named vice president of finance and chief financial officer.
“We're very excited to recognize the talents that Willem, Jim, Davide, John and DeeDee bring to our business,” Denson said. “We look forward to their leadership as our teams worldwide continue to drive Nike brand growth and market leadership.”
The new positions in the Asia Pacific region will work to further strengthen Nike's position in the market, led by China, the company's fastest-growing market which saw sales double in the past two years to more than $600 million. By the fiscal year '09, China revenues are expected to surpass the 1 billion dollar mark, which would make it the second largest country market for Nike.
Haitink brings 12 years of consumer marketing experience at Nike to the China role, with management experience in each of Nike's regions. Since July 2005, Haitink has served as general manager for Nike China and Hong Kong. Before joining Nike, Haitink worked in consumer brand marketing at Unilever. Haitnik completed an MBA at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Godbout is being promoted from his role of general manager of Nike Japan, where he has served since 2005. He brings 12 years of footwear sales management experience at Nike, in positions in the US and Asia, including Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. Godbout received a degree in business and public administration from the University of Arizona.
Grasso has been working as Asia Pacific director of marketing since 2004 where he carried brand management responsibilities for footwear, apparel and equipment. He has worked at Nike for 11 years, in various marketing management roles, including US Region brand management director, and apparel marketing director for Europe. Grasso completed his master of business administration at Bocconi University in Milan.
Slusher will lead development and implementation of sports marketing strategies in both the Asia Pacific and Americas regions, including relationships with US professional sports leagues in the regions and endorsement, sponsorship and licensing, reporting to Global Sports Marketing Vice President Adam Helfant. He joined Nike in 1998 and has held a variety of roles in the global sports marketing group, including manager of business affairs and associate director. Slusher received his law degree from the University of Southern California and worked as an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers before joining Nike.
Wilson will be responsible for delivering financial results and the region's strategic planning process for EMEA, currently Nike's largest international region. She also carries responsibility for IT, real estate, facilities and procurement and reports to Eunan McLaughlin, the region's vice president and general manager. A certified public accountant and internal auditor, Wilson joined Nike in 1995 and has served in a variety of treasury, controller, audit and business planning roles. She has served as chief financial officer for the EMEA region in 2004 and succeeds Jim Allaker, recently appointed general manager of the United Kingdom, in leading the strategic planning and other functions. She began her career as an auditor with Price Waterhouse and worked for six years at the Coca-Cola Company.
