How Tim Cook is transforming the future of sportswear

In addition to presiding over the firm that, by market capitalization, predominates in the tech sector, Tim Cook, in his free time, set out to rescue Nike from the economic labyrinth in which it has been trapped for some time.

This position reveals a little-known facet of Apple’s current CEO: his ability to build bridges between different business cultures and transfer his experience to other latitudes.

And although Nike retains leadership in the sports textile industry, it lost almost a 25% of its value so far this year. Its sales fell 10% in the last quarter and its shares also suffered this impact.

From 19 years ago that Cook earned a seat at the table of the external advisors closest to the sports firm and is considered the lead independent director of the company.

Its management includes advice on the Asian marketthe appointment of new executiveshe store design and the strategy to follow in new product launches.

In May 2024, while presenting the new iPad, Tim Cook gave a wink that few in the auditorium caught: he was wearing Nike sneakers – unique in their kind – whose decorative seams read “Made on iPad”.

Far from being a coincidence, Tim Cook joined the board of Nike in 2005. In that same year, he made his debut as COO of Apple after becoming the right-hand man of Steve Jobswho ended up proposing him as his heir.

At that time, Apple and Nike partnered to create a pedometer sensor that was inserted into the sole of shoes to send performance data to iPods.

The current CEO of Apple has repeatedly highlighted the enormous influence that Steve Jobs had on his professional career and the way he governed the company’s destinies.

“For those of us who were lucky enough to work with him, he was the teacher of a lifetime,” Tim Cook confessed in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

In September 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple to become CEO, after leaving the company due to differences with the board of directors. One of their objectives was to hire Tim Cook to organize the structure.

At that time, Cook was working at Compaq and was not willing to leave the tranquility of his position for the distant dream of turning around a company that was suffering from a terminal crisis.

“Many may have forgotten, but Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy and it was a terrible time.” Even so, Cook said during an interview with David Rubenstein that it was “the best decision of my life.”

Cook worked alongside Jobs for the next 13 years, a period in which, he explained, he learned lessons that marked his career. One of the skills that surprised him about Jobs was his flexibility to change his mind when someone else’s argument was strong.

According to Cook himself, in the business world or in life in general, it is difficult for someone to admit their mistake or accept a mistake. different reasoning.

“Very few people have that ability because they marry previous views. Steve Jobs changed his mind many times and he changed his mind about many things.”

As COO, Cook was responsible for Apple’s relationships with Mac partners and suppliers and customer service. After several months of medical leave, Jobs resigned in August 2011 and Cook was installed as the great successor.

As Cook rose in his professional career, his relationship with Phil Knight, founder of Nike and owner of the company Laika, became closer, as noted in a Bloomberg article.

In a talk at Stanford, Knight called Cook a “great collaborative leader.” He also wrote a profile in Time magazine, arguing that the Apple CEO is “able to think tactically and strategically in an industry very different from his own.”

During this period, Nike’s business was characterized by stability and a constant growth. Therefore, the consultations with Cook were very specific and sporadic.

But this changed in 2019, after disappointing financial results and a series of sexual harassment accusations against Mark Parker, who was then the CEO of Nike, which turned everything upside down.

In a bid to modernize e-commerce operations, Nike named John Donahoe as its new CEO. The former eBay leader also turned to Cook to advance in the complex Chinese market.

Currently, Apple and Nike have unique straps and watch faces for the Apple Watch. In turn, the sports firm provides its own set of fitness functions.

Before the debut of the Apple Watch, Cook was a user of FuelBand, a precursor to current wearables developed by Nike, which was discontinued months before the introduction of the Apple Watch in 2014.

Cook has a strong background in supply chain management. Before joining Apple, he held these positions at IBM and Compaq.

This potential to combine manufacturing with logistics and distribution, along with his leadership skills, played a crucial role in his appointment as CEO.

Under his leadership, Apple rose to stardom. In its first 15 months, it acquired about 24 startups such as SnappyLabs, dedicated to metrics, HopStop and Locationary, specialized in maps and cartography.

One of the most resonant was PrimeSense, the firm responsible for the motion control of the Xbox 360 Kinect. He also acquired several photography firms and Beats Electronics, an audio firm.

“We are not in a race to spend the most money or buy everything that comes our way. Our goal is to have the best products in the world, so that they enrich people’s lives,” he said.

This year, it closed a deal with DarwinAI and absorbed not only employees, but also their ideas, developments, patents and technologies into the multinational’s existing projects, with a special focus on making products that are as fast and small as possible.