Second Nike Executive Leaves in Wake of Workplace Complaints -- 2nd Update
March 16 2018 - 6:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Germano and Joann S. Lublin
A second veteran executive is leaving Nike Inc. after internal
complaints about inappropriate workplace behavior at the sneaker
and sportswear giant, according to people familiar with the
matter.
Jayme Martin, a vice president and general manager of global
categories for Nike, was forced out of the company and is no longer
an employee, the people said. He joined Nike in 1997 and, in his
latest role, oversaw several of Nike's major business units,
including women's, running, training, and basketball.
A Nike spokesman said the company doesn't discuss personnel
moves. Mr. Martin didn't respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Martin was a top lieutenant to Trevor Edwards, the Nike
brand president, who resigned his position Thursday, the same day
Chief Executive Mark Parker told employees the company had received
recent complaints about inappropriate workplace behavior and was
revamping its leadership team.
The departures mark the latest fallout from a wave of misconduct
allegations against high-profile executives, including former Wynn
Resorts Ltd. chairman and CEO Steve Wynnand senior Ford Motor Co.
executive Raj Nair. Last month, Nike rival Lululemon Athletica Inc.
said its CEO Laurent Potdevin was leaving the company for
unspecified inappropriate behavior.
A number of companies have said they are encouraging employees
to come forward with anycomplaints related to sexual harassment or
other misconduct. Some companies also are examining their internal
procedures for handling such issues. Nike encouraged employees
Thursday to use an internal hotline to raise concerns and promised
to improve how its human-resources team handled such matters.
Nike has received complaints pertaining to Mr. Martin but no
direct complaints about Mr. Edwards, one person said. Mr. Martin
has already left the company, while Mr. Edwards will remain on the
payroll as a consultant and retire as a Nike employee in August.
Both men spent decades at the company and climbed its leadership
ranks.
Messrs. Martin and Edwards protected male subordinates who
engaged in behavior that was demeaning to female colleagues,
according to another person. Their lieutenants bullied people who
weren't in their group, this person said, such as women and
individuals from foreign countries.
Mr. Edwards didn't respond to requests for comment. Another Nike
spokesman said Thursday the company hadn't received specific
complaints about Mr. Edwards. Mr. Parker didn't provide details
about the alleged behavior or say whether the complaints included
Mr. Edwards or other executives. Mr. Martin wasn't named in
Thursday's memo.
The departures of two longtime company veterans is unusual for
Nike, which has prized loyalty and groomed talent from within.
Executives have spoken openly about Nike's unique and competitive
culture, borrowed from the world of sports and channeled into the
sneaker industry.
In his memoir published in 2016, co-founder Phil Knight
described early management meetings at Nike, which the all-male
team called "Buttfaces." The meetings, he wrote, were as much about
bonding as it was about business.
"There was none of that smartest-guy-in-the-room foolishness,"
he wrote. "Our meetings were defined by contempt, disdain, and
heaps of abuse. Oh, what abuse. We called each other terrible
names. We rained down verbal blows. While floating ideas, and
shooting down ideas, and hashing out threats to the company, the
last thing we took into account was someone's feelings."
Mr. Knight, who retired as Nike's chairman in 2016, remains the
company's largest shareholder and as chairman emeritus attends
board meetings as a nonvoting member. Mr. Knight couldn't be
reached for comment on Friday.
Nike recently has been emphasizing efforts to make its product
offerings more inclusive. The company has expanded its Jordan
sneaker line with more women's sizes and colors, offered basketball
shoes in honor of Black History Month, and sold shirts and other
gear bearing the word "Equality" which Nike says "support and
celebrate our commitment to inclusion for all."
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com and Joann S.
Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 16, 2018 18:22 ET (22:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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