A Tech Executive in a Consumer Product Company
“Having a tech executive who came in to run a consumer product company and introduce a strategy shift, it’s proven to be the wrong approach,” said Jim Duffy, managing director at Stifel, Financial Times reported.
That tech executive would be John Donahoe, Nike’s chief executive since January 2020, who previously served as the head of eBay and ServiceNow.
Nike is in crisis. Some commentators note that Donahoe bet too much on digital channels and underestimated product development.
For many years, we have been hearing the following:
[1] All the companies will be digital soon.
[2] A CEO must have an IT background.
[3] ‘Digital thinking’ is the most important trait of a business leader.
But having a tech background hasn’t saved Donahoe from mistakes in the world that ‘goes digital’ day after day.
Any company’s CEO should be customer-oriented and have a marketing background.
If a CEO doesn’t understand the company’s customers, who will?
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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