Episode

Looking Back on Nike’s Evolution from Startup to Global Enterprise

Podcast
HBR On Leadership
Published
Mar 11, 2026
Duration seconds
1197
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://hbr.org/podcast/2026/03/looking-back-on-nikes-evolution-from-startup-to-global-enterprise
Audio
https://audio.hbr.org/on-leadership/20260310144850-LookingBackonNike_sEvolutionfromStartuptoGlobalEnterprise.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/hbr-on-leadership-6411274/episodes/looking-back-on-nike-s-evolution-from-startup-to-global-enterprise
Markdown
/podcast/hbr-on-leadership-6411274/looking-back-on-nike-s-evolution-from-startup-to-global-enterprise.md

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Summary

Phil Knight, co-founder, former CEO, and Chairman Emeritus of Nike, tells the story of starting the sports apparel and equipment giant after taking an entrepreneurship class at Stanford and teaming up with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman. Together, they changed how running shoes are designed and made. In this conversation from 2017, Knight reflects on the company’s enduring culture of innovation, as well as the company’s succession process for the CEO role.