BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2009-- NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today announced that Michaela (Michi) Stitz has been named as Vice President of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Stitz will be responsible for driving continued market leadership and growth for the CEE geography, replacing Marc van Pappelendam, who was recently named as VP of the UK/Ireland territory.

“Michaela is an experienced and highly successful Nike leader with diverse commercial and management skills, said Gary DeStefano, President of Global Operations for NIKE, Inc. “She has the passion to drive the CEE business strategy with the necessary focus and direction, to achieve our aggressive growth goals for the geography despite current regional challenges.”

Stitz has extensive management experience and a diverse commercial background. Having started her Nike career in 1996, Stitz set up the equipment business for Nike Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia. In 1998 she became Footwear Business Director, followed with the position of General Manager for Nike Austria, Slovenia and Croatia in 2002. She moved on to become Sales Director for Nike Germany, and then after briefly taking a break to move back to Austria, Stitz returned to Nike 18 months ago as GM of Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland (AGSS).

Reporting to NIKE, Inc. President of Operations, Gary DeStefano, Stitz will transition to the new role on November 1, 2009.

About Nike

NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com.

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Source: NIKE, Inc.

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