One of my professors regularly tells us that 'business is personal'. I dont think she meant it this way but this article about Nike shows that for many corporations, management is personal, and sometimes it is an actual person.
I have no idea if Perez got a bum deal here or if he is another CEO windbag/bum but it sounds like a difficult situation. Makes me wonder how Apple and Microsoft will handle their own transitions when they finally replace their founder-CEO's.
He Said/He Said: Knight, Perez Tell Different Nike Tales
January 24, 2006
No matter who holds the CEO title at Nike Inc., one thing is clear: The world's largest athletic firm is still Philip H. Knight's company.
Nike yesterday confirmed that it had replaced Chief Executive and President William D. Perez -- an outsider who joined the company just over a year ago -- with a veteran insider and Knight ally, Mark G. Parker. In making the change, Nike and Mr. Knight were blunt about the reason: Mr. Perez did not quickly enough translate his experience in the consumer-products industry to the athletic-footwear giant. And Mr. Knight was unwilling to let him learn on the job.
"Maybe it's a little bit cruel," Mr. Knight said. "Bill was brought in here to mentor Charlie and Mark to someday step into a higher role. A lot of days they were mentoring him. It wasn't going the right way."
In an interview, Mr. Perez had his own blunt assessment. "The fundamental issue was very basic," he said. "Phil didn't retire. When I joined Nike it was with the understanding that Phil was going to retire. I honestly believed he was going to step aside and let me move the ship in the right direction."
He added: "You don't need two CEOs. One is redundant, and I happened to be the redundant one." Mr. Perez said he and his wife "have found this experience to be extremely painful." While he praised Nike employees and the company's range of athletic technology, as well as Mr. Knight whom he describes as a "visionary leader," he also found Mr. Knight's operating style frustrating. "There were a number of situations, where I found out that he didn't agree with me through a third party."
