After leaving the sports apparel brand in 2021 to set up her own creative agency, Graham will return to Nike to lead its marketing globally.
The 18-year veteran of Nike will oversee the global brand marketing team and all aspects of its marketing, positioning it for growth. During her previous time at Nike, Graham was latterly its vp of global categories and consumer direct brand marketing.
She takes over from another veteran, Dirk-Jan “DJ” van Hameren, who leaves after 31 years within the Nike marketing team.
Graham joins amid other changes made across the company’s product innovation and design department to aid its product innovation, design and storytelling offers aimed at consumers, including the promotion of Martin Lotti to oversee all design across footwear and apparel to brand and retail concepts.
Next year will be a big year for sporting brands, with both the Olympic Games being held in Paris and the UEFA European Football Championship taking place in Germany. Numerous activations and athlete sponsorships will take place across both events, on top of regular sporting partnerships around the world.
Nike’s first-quarter revenue in September was up 2% year-over-year, at $12.9 billion overall.
“Q1 offered proof of what Nike can deliver when we connect great innovation, great storytelling and great marketplace experiences to consumers,” said John Donahoe, president and CEO of Nike, in a statement. “Moving forward, we are laser-focused on scaling these successes with greater consistency and speed as we continue to integrate and streamline our business. This is how we’ll extend our leadership position and drive growth over the long term.”
Nike rose by one place on the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2023 list, to No. 9, having grown its brand value by 7% this year, to $53.773 billion.
Antonio Lucio, chief marketing and corporate affairs officer, HP
Returning to HP over five years after he departed to lead marketing for Facebook, Lucio made a surprise move. Lucio will succeed his own successor, CMO Vikrant Batra, who is leaving the business after 14 years.
Lucio, an Advertising Hall of Fame inductee, will take up the position in January, following fourth-quarter results from the company that revealed net revenue of $13.8 billion, down 6% year-over-year for the period.
