Philip Hampson Knight is a well-known American businessman who is famously known as the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc.
Knight has made a significant impact in the business world and has been ranked by Forbes as one of the wealthiest people in the world.
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Knight owns Laika, a stop-motion film business, and Nike. He was a track and field club member under coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, where he began his business career. He and Bowerman founded Nike.
Knight has always been generous. He has contributed hundreds of millions to his alma maters, the University of Oregon, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Oregon Health & Science University. He has contributed approximately $2 billion to these three organizations, helping them flourish.
He started his firm after a varied career. Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse were his first CPA employers. He taught accounting at Portland State University afterwards.
Knight spent a year on active service and seven years in the Army Reserve after graduating from the University of Oregon. He later earned his MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he authored a thesis that predicted his sports shoe business.
Knight found Onitsuka Co.’s Tiger running shoes in Kobe, Japan, on a post-graduation global tour. Knight bought western US distribution rights after being impressed by the shoes’ quality and price.
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Bill Bowerman, his future business partner and coach at Oregon, received two pairs of sneakers. Bowerman ordered the shoes and offered to work with Knight and create products. On January 25, 1964, the two men created Blue Ribbon Sports, later Nike, by handshake.
At Northwest track meetings, Knight sold shoes from his vehicle trunk. By 1969, Blue Ribbon Sports had expanded sufficiently for Knight to quit his accounting job and work full-time. In 1971, Blue Ribbon Sports was called Nike when its first employee, Jeff Johnson, proposed it.
Graphic design student Carolyn Davidson designed Nike’s “swoosh” logo in 1971 for $35. Knight finally liked the design, and in September 1983, Davidson received a lot of Nike stock for her branding work. Knight befriended Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
Phil Knight Parents: Who are Phil Knight’s Parents?
Phil Hampson Knight was born to Bill Knight and Lota Cloy Knight on February 24, 1938, in Portland, Oregon.
Bill Knight was a well-known person in the area. He used to be a lawyer, but then he switched to making newspapers. People knew him as someone who worked hard and loved what he did.
Bill Knight was born on February 8, 1909, and died on February 19, 1981. He had a full and successful life.
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Throughout his career, he earned a lot of respect and admiration for his work and for what he did for the community.
Phil Knight’s mother, Lota Hatfield Knight, was a loving and helpful member of the family. She led a quiet, private life in Portland, Oregon, where she took care of her family and home.