Leading Innovation and Design, Mark Parker is Embracing Nike’s Legacy Since Years- Mark Parker, Chairman, President and CEO, Nike, Inc

Ever since he became the Chief Executive Officer of Nike in 2006, the company’s annual revenue hiked up to 60 percent, profit increased up to 57 percent, and its market cap has more than doubled. Mark Parker has proved his caliber at every stage of business. The success of Nike stems from how well Parker has embraced innovation and prioritized design. He is one of three members of HTM, a three-person design collaboration, alongside designer Tinker Hatfield and creative consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara, that functions as Nike’s core R&D team. HTM is an unusual collaboration: it resides within a $26 billion dollar company yet it operates without deadlines or budget constraints and is guided solely by the interests of its three members. To date, the trio has launched 17 widely varied limited-edition shoes.

During his tenure as chief executive, Parker has overseen sportswear giant Nike’s emergence into the fashion industry’s orbit. Parker has successfully appealed to the street style generation with what have become must-have products, most notably Nike’s Free Runs, Air Max and Fly Knit product lines. Fast Company named Parker the most creative chief executive in 2012. Parker’s ability to market Nike’s brand through its design sensibility, as well as its products’ functionality, stems from his personal experience as a member of the company’s design team. Before becoming the Chairman, President and CEO of NIKE, Inc., Mark was leading the company in other ways. After running competitively at Penn State University, he joined Nike in 1979 as one of their first footwear designers. And since then he is leading the way being responsible for bringing innovation and creativity at Nike.

Well not only this, for more than 30 years, he’s brought innovative concepts and engineering expertise into such vital roles as Vice President of Consumer Product Marketing, Vice President of Global Footwear and Co-President of the Nike Brand. A visionary, he is an anchor for his business. He’s led the way for Nike Air and a multitude of industry-breakthroughs in product design. In addition to helping lead the continued growth of the Nike brand, Parker is responsible for the growth of NIKE, Inc.’s global business portfolio, which includes Converse Inc. and Hurley International LLC.