Mark Parker (born October 21, 1955) is an American businessman. He serves as executive chairman of

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

He was named the third CEO of the company in 2006 and served as president and CEO until 13 January 2020.Nike website biography
/ref>

Personal life

Parker was born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, the son of Meg and Bruce Parker. He graduated from Westhill High School in

Stamford, CT Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

and later earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science at Penn State University in 1977. He is married to Kathy Parker and has three children, Jennifer, Meg Elizabeth, and Matthew. He ran on the Penn State track and cross country teams.

Art collection

Parker is an avid arts supporter with an extensive ongoing collection of modern, low brow and underground contemporary art, along with many other one-of-a-kind collectibles, including a cursed monkey. Notable artists from Parker's collection include

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

, Adonna Khare,

Mark Ryden Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...

Todd Schorr Todd Schorr (born January 9, 1954) is an American artist and member of the " Lowbrow" art movement or pop surrealism. Combining a cartoon influenced visual vocabulary with a highly polished technical ability, based on the exacting painting meth ...

, Tim Biskup, Eric White, Sebastian Kruger, Charles Krafft,

Glennray Tutor Glennray Tutor (born 1950 in Kennett, Missouri) is an American painter who is known for his photorealistic paintings. He is considered to be part of the Photorealism art movement.Eric Gibson, "Outward Bound: American Art on the Brink of the Twen ...

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

, Chris Mars, Sarina Brewer, and Michael Leavitt. Parker keeps a pair of bat-boots Nike designed for

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...

to wear in the 1989 '' Batman'' movie. Other notable items include rare movie ephemera such as original props such as Star Wars C-3PO and models from ''

Mars Attacks! ''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading card series of the same name. The film featu ...

'' (1996), ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Re ...

'' (1951) and ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'' (1985).

Career

Parker joined Nike in 1979 as a footwear designer based in its R&D facility in

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

. He became Division Vice President in charge of development in 1987, Corporate Vice President in 1989, General Manager in 1993, and Vice President of Global Footwear in 1998. Prior to becoming vice president of Nike, he served as co-president (with Charlie Denson) of the Nike brand beginning in March 2001. He still participates in shoe design, most notably on the Nike HTM project, creating limited edition footwear alongside Nike designer Tinker Hatfield and creative consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara. He has committed to ensuring that Nike remain environmentally conscious. After 10 years of work, Parker and his team launched the first "Green Shoe" that adheres to the principles of sustainability.CNN Feature on Nike's "Green Shoe"
/ref> He is also responsible for other brands in Nike's portfolio, including Converse Inc. While CEO of Nike in 2012, Mark G. Parker earned a total compensation of $15,425,608, which included a base salary of $1,609,615, a cash bonus of $594,190, stocks granted of $3,500,087, options granted of $4,199,250, and non-equity incentive plan compensation listed at $5,522,466. After being promoted to Chairman in 2016, Mark Parker's compensation tripled to over $47.6 million - $33.5 million of which came from stock rewards. In 2015, Mark Parker was named ''Fortune'''s Businessperson of the year. It was announced in June 2015 that Mark Parker is replacing Phil Knight as company chairman of Nike in 2016. In 2016, he ranked 14th in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

' list of highest paid CEOs with an annual paycheck of 47.6 million. Parker was elected onto Walt Disney's board of directors early 2016. In 2017, Parker took a 71% pay cut due to a year of poor sales at Nike and the layoff of 1,000 employees. Subsequently, his earnings were $13.9 million from stock and options. In 2019, Mark Parker was criticized by certain right wing media commentators for his embrace of Nike endorser

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt du ...

. Some groups claim that Nike has recently shown a far-left bias in regard to advertising and business practices. Additionally, Parker was criticized for discontinuing a special edition of their Air Max 1 Quick Strike "

Betsy Ross flag The Betsy Ross flag is a reconstructed early design for the flag of the United States, which is conformant to the Flag Act of 1777 and has red stripes outermost and stars arranged in a circle. These details elaborate on the 1777 act, passed ea ...

"-themed sneakers. In October 2019, Mark Parker announced he will step down as Nike's CEO and become executive chairman of the company on January 13, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Mark Living people Businesspeople from Poughkeepsie, New York Pennsylvania State University alumni Nike, Inc. people American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives of fashion industry companies American retail chief executives American chief executives of manufacturing companies Shoe designers Directors of The Walt Disney Company 1955 births