Sitting on the board for nearly 20 years, Nike's "big boss" Apple CEO Cook faces a new challenge behind the scenes

When Apple CEO Cook unveiled the new iPad on May 7th, he wore a pair of Nike sneakers reportedly specially designed and made for the event (see the picture below). Under the Nike logo on the tongue of the shoe, there was the phrase "Made on iPad". This is just the tip of the iceberg of Cook's painstaking efforts for Nike's performance. At a time when the sportswear giant is facing headwinds, Cook, who has been a "resident" director for nearly twenty years, is facing a new challenge of how to lead the company out of the predicament.

Public information shows that in 2005, Apple appointed Cook as the company's Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the entire Apple supply chain and operations. After nearly six years, in August 2011, he took over from Steve Jobs and has been CEO ever since. It was also in 2005 that Cook became a Nike director. Some comments point out that since then, Apple and Nike have established multiple partnerships, such as Nike shoes with built-in pedometers that can send data related to walking and running to iPods, and the Nike sports band for the Apple Watch. Cook wearing custom Nike shoes to launch the iPad in May is the latest proof of the collaboration between the two companies.

Bloomberg reported that over the past 19 years, Cook has become one of Nike's closest external advisors and is the company's leading independent director. Some current and former employees of Nike and Apple revealed that during his tenure as a Nike director, Cook has been providing a range of advice to the Nike board, covering a wide range of issues, from handling controversies in the Chinese market to technical operations, and appointing key new executives.

The report mentioned that Nike's former CEO, John Donahoe, was recommended by Cook. Before joining Nike, Donahoe led eBay, and Cook provided him with advice on how eBay should deal with Wall Street "wolf king" Carl Icahn and Tesla CEO Musk and other activist investors. At Nike, Donahoe sees Cook as a mentor and a good advisor for decision-making. When Nike was evaluating new CEO candidates last month, Cook also supported the rehiring of retired Elliott Hill to take over the company's helm, helping this Nike veteran succeed Donahoe.

In terms of operations, employees at Nike's global headquarters in Oregon said that Cook occasionally offers design suggestions for retail stores and encourages Nike to focus on core products rather than market saturation. In addition, during the upgrade of Nike's digital ecosystem in China, including online stores, apps, and WeChat mini-programs, executives from the company's technology department often borrow Cook's strategy of complying with laws in the Chinese region.

However, Nike is currently in the midst of its biggest turmoil in decades, and the challenges faced by Cook and other Nike directors are more severe than ever before. Wall Street View once mentioned that Nike's revenue for the fourth quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, announced at the end of June this year, fell short of expectations and the guidance for the 2025 fiscal year was lowered, triggering a strong market reaction, with the stock price plummeting nearly 20% on June 28th after the financial report was released Nike announced earlier this month that its revenue for the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year decreased by 10.4% year-on-year, and profit decreased by 28%. As the new and old CEOs transition, Nike has withdrawn its full-year performance guidance and postponed the Investor Day scheduled for November, allowing the new CEO more time to develop a strategy to turn losses into profits. This strategy will require approval from board members such as Cook