Phil Knight

Philip H. Knight was an accounting student and middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon when he was seized with the idea of importing high-tech running shoes from Japan. It was not easy to persuade others that this was a promising business opportunity, but Knight took the idea to his track coach, Bill Bowerman. The two of them shook hands and agreed to start a small import business. At first, Knight sold the shoes out of the trunk of his car at high school track meets. From importing shoes, Knight soon gravitated to the idea of designing and manufacturing them with a company of his own, and Nike Inc. was born. Knight and his team created the revolutionary "waffle sole" by pouring rubber into a kitchen waffle iron, and introduced the new product at the 1972 U.S. Olympic trials. Knight built the company brilliantly through constant innovation, astute advertising and well-chosen endorsements. In only ten years, he built a billion-dollar business. Today the Nike "swoosh" is the most recognizable of trademarks, and Nike is the largest sports and fitness company in the world. Mr. Knight addressed the student delegates and answered their questions at the 1989 Academy of Achievement Summit in San Francisco.