PRESS RELEASE - CONNORS
Published on
EXHIBIT 99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INVESTOR CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT:
Pamela Catlett Joani Komlos
503.671.4589 503.671.2013
FORMER MICROSOFT CFO JOHN G. CONNORS
APPOINTED TO NIKE'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Beaverton, OR (APRIL 14, 2005) -- At its board of directors meeting
held here today, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) appointed John G. Connors,
former senior vice president of finance and administration and chief
financial officer at Microsoft Corp., to its board of directors.
Nike's board now numbers 11.
Mr. Connors, 46, spent 16 years at Microsoft before announcing his
retirement in January of this year and joining Ignition Partners LLC, a
venture capital firm established by former Microsoft and McCaw Cellular
executives that invests in early stage enterprise software and services
technology companies. It is anticipated that he will serve on Nike's
Audit Committee.
"John's combination of finance, information technology and business
operations experience makes him an ideal addition to our board," said
Philip H. Knight, Nike founder and chairman. "He also comes from one
of the most successful companies and brands anywhere in the world. We
look forward to his many valuable contributions to Nike."
As senior vice president of finance and administration and CFO at
Microsoft for five years, Mr. Connors was responsible for the company's
finances, investor relations, administration, corporate services,
procurement and real estate. In addition to his finance and
administration responsibilities, he also was responsible for the Global
Operations and Technology Group.
Since joining Microsoft in January of 1989, Mr. Connors held a variety
of finance, technology and operations positions, including vice
president of the Worldwide Enterprise Group, vice president and chief
information officer, corporate controller, general manager of Worldwide
Finance Operations, director of business relations of the company's
European Headquarters in Paris and director of business operations of
the Worldwide Sales and Support Strategy Group.
Before joining Microsoft, Mr. Connors worked for PIP Printing Inc.,
SAFECO Corp. and Deloitte, Haskins and Sells. He is a graduate of the
University of Montana with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He also
is a CPA.
NIKE, Inc. based in 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; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor
of hockey equipment; Cole Haan(r), which designs, markets, and
distributes fine dress and casual shoes and accessories; and Hurley
International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports
and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories.