Nike: co-founder Philip Knight will step down as chairman of the board in 2016

Philip Knight (77 years old), the co-founder of US sports equipment manufacturer Nike (formerly Blue Ribbon Sports, founded in 1964) with Bill Bowerman in 1971, will leave his position as chairman of the company's board of directors in 2016, Nike announced on 30/06/2015. Phil Knight recommended that Mark Parker, who has been employed by Nike since 1979 and has been its CEO since 2006, succeed him.

Phil Knight graduated from the University of Oregon (USA), majoring in journalism in 1958. He subsequently obtained a degree at Stanford University (California, USA) where he wrote a memoir entitled "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?". The personal fortune of Phil Knight is estimated at $24.3bn by the magazine Forbes.

Key dates in the Nike Phil Knight era

• 1964: Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman created the company Blue Ribbon Sports with an initial investment of $1,200.
• 1971: Blue Ribbon Sports became Nike.
• 1972: Carolyn Davidson, a graphic art…