Oregon Trail: Ross MBAs Visit Nike and Adidas Headquarters
Stephen Hughes
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Features
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We spent Thursday with Nike, which is headquartered in the sleepy Portland suburb of Beaverton. Michigan was invited to participate in Nike's inaugural Campus Trek as one of six MBA programs taking part in the event. The Campus Trek is an MBA exclusive event designed to provide MBAs a glimpse inside Nike and to provide Nike with a recruiting opportunity. The day kicked off with a panel of Executives discussing their unique path to Nike. We heard from David Ayre, VP of Global HR; Nelson Farris, VP of Corporate Education; and Jackie Thomas, GMM College and Pro Sports. Mr. Farris, a 35 year Nike employee, stole the show as he recounted the Nike corporate history. Despite suffering from a head cold, Nelson spoke in a strikingly personal demeanor, demonstrating the passion that has made Nike the #1 sporting company in the world. In fiscal year 2007, Nike revenues exceeded $16 BB and net profits were almost $1.5 BB.
Following the 3 keynote speakers we were taken on a tour of the campus, and then we sat before a panel of Nike Representatives which included Ross alum David Cho (JD/MBA 06). In addition to David, the panel included Nike's Chief Tax Officer Domingo Garcia and Corporate Responsibility Manager Stephani Stevenson. The group introduced themselves along with the roles they have at Nike and then candidly fielded questions from the group. Following the panel discussion, we had lunch and then sat for another round of Q&A in which David answered all the questions that did not get addressed during the group portion.
At the conclusion of the event we went to Nike's employee store and did our best to spend our way into a position. Despite the notorious shopping habits of my female classmates, I actually spent the most, personally contributing $243.27 to Nike's bottom line.
That night we met Brandon Peters, Carlos Evora, Erin Chapman, and David Cho for Dinner at Henry's Tavern. All four are Ross alums and currently work for Nike, so the dinner gave us an opportunity to network and better understand how they were able to navigate the intensely competitive Nike hiring process. Last year Nike received over 10,000 applications for 142 Internship positions. And come to find out, Brandon and David are actually the only 2 MBA interns from their Intern Class who received full-time positions.
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