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Nike

Nike, Inc.

INTRODUCTION
Philip H. Knight, born on February 24, 1938, is an American billionaire, co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. Today, he is the 30th richest American with a net worth of US$10.4B and 35% stake in NIKE INC. He was the CEO as well as the Chairman of NIKE INC. till 2004 after which he resigned as the CEO but continues as the Chairman in NIKE INC. His father was a lawyer and later a newspaper publisher. Knight attended Cleveland High School in Portland before enrolling at the University of Oregon in Eugene where he graduated in accounting in 1959. He was a middle-distance runner at the school under track coach and co-founder of NIKE INC., Bill Bowerman, and ran a personal best 4:10 mile, winning varsity letters for track in 1957, 1958, and 1959. Right after graduation from Oregon, Knight enlisted in the Army and served one year on active duty and seven years in the Army Reserve. After the year of active duty, he enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He graduated with a Masters of Business Administration from the school in 1962.

AN ENTREPRENEUR IS BORN
Bowerman had been experimenting with new shoe designs using his wife's waffle iron. In those days running shoes were low quality by today's standards, with many being made by tire companies and costing as little as $5. Knight, in an effort to improve his times, often found himself experimenting with Bowerman's latest shoes. Bowerman and Knight worked together to continue to develop the ideas that would become Nike running shoes.
In Stanford’s small business class, Knight discovered he was an entrepreneur. Knight recalls in a Stanford Magazine article. "That class was an 'aha!' moment. The professor defined the type of person who was an entrepreneur--and I realized he was talking to me. I remember saying to myself: 'This is really what I would like to do.” In this class Knight needed to create a business plan. His paper, "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What...