2 Veteran Nike Executives Are Appointed to New Role

Nike Inc. named two veteran executives to share the newly created position of president of the Nike brand, which accounts for the biggest share of the athletic shoe and apparel company’s business.

Charles Denson, 44, currently vice president of Nike USA, and Mark G. Parker, 45, currently vice president of global footwear, have each been with the Beaverton, Ore.-based company for 22 years.

The appointments were announced Thursday by Philip H. Knight, 63, who is chairman, chief executive and president of Nike Inc.

He said the selections “will focus significant creative and general management talent on the largest portion of our business.”

The appointments appear to be another step in the grooming of Denson and Parker for the top job when Knight retires.

“It’s part of the succession plan,” said Josephine Esquivel at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in New York.

But she said Denson may have a tougher job because he will be partly responsible for trying to boost U.S. shoe sales, which are flat, despite strong markets in Europe and Asia.

“Based on what he accomplished in Europe, they feel what he’s done so far is a good start,” Esquivel said. “But it remains to be seen if he can turn the U.S. around.”

Denson will be responsible for Nike’s four regional operations and brand-related corporate support, including finance, human resources and strategic planning.

Parker will oversee all global product and brand management, including advanced research and design innovation.

Before he was named Nike’s U.S. regional chief last June, Denson spent 3 1/2 years in Nike’s European headquarters in Hilversum, The Netherlands, as vice president of sales and later as vice president of Nike Europe. He began his career at Nike in 1979 as assistant manager at one of Nike’s original retail stores in Portland, Ore.

Parker joined Nike in 1979 as a footwear designer and development manager and has held a series of senior management positions in footwear, research, design, development and brand marketing.

Parker has led Nike’s $5.6-billion global footwear business, including Nike design, for the past three years and is credited with helping develop a number of Nike innovations, including the cross-training category, Visible Air, Tuned Air and, most recently, Presto.

On Thursday, Nike shares were up 10 cents to close at $40.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.