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Longtime Nike executives exit amid workplace complaints

Departures by notable and longtime executives at Nike following allegations of inappropriate behavior

Nike Executives

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A second veteran executive at Nike has exited the global sportswear giant, shortly after Nike’s brand president announced his resignation on March 15.

Jayme Martin, vice president and general manager of global categories for Nike, was “forced out of the company,” according to the Wall Street Journal, and is no longer with the Beaverton, Ore.-based organization. The news comes shortly after Trevor Edwards announced his resignation though he will be kept on the Nike payroll as a consultant and retire in August.

“There had been conduct inconsistent with Nike’s principles and we are taking the appropriate actions,” a spokesperson told Bloomberg on March 15.

On Thursday, the day of Edwards’s resignation announcement, Nike CEO Mark Parker sent an internal email to employees informing them that the company had received complaints about inappropriate workplace behaviour. The WSJ reports that “Nike has received complaints pertaining to Mr. Martin but no direct complaints about Mr. Edwards” and later adds that “another Nike spokesman said Thursday the company hadn’t received specific complaints about Mr. Edwards.”

The WSJ called Edwards a potential successor to Parker, the CEO, who has held the title for more than a decade.

The departure of the two employees comes a month after Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin announced that he was leaving the athletic wear company as former employees told CNBC that the culture under Potdevin’s direction was “toxic” and that he had a negative impact.

“We’ve heard from strong and courageous employees,” Parker said in the internal memo. The WSJ reports that the review was prompted by an “informal survey about alleged inappropriate behavior by men at the company.”

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