The company’s profits grew manifold over the ensuing years and by 1980 Nike had captured one-half of the athletic shoe market. SIGNUP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AND IMMEDIATELY GET 10% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER, AND THE BEST OF OREGON WEEKLY. He went to the University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene where he continued running. Please share your favorite local business that could use some love right now. He was a graduate of Hillsboro school, Oregon, and worked for the charity Christian Children of the World. While working on a college assignment he came up with the idea for a sports shoe company and realized that he had found his calling. By: Amrutha Srivatsa - Published: November 27, 2017 at 8:38 am, Photo: Jim Rogash / Stringer / Getty Images. He is a graduate of Portland State University. To his surprise, his former coach didn’t just order a pair for himself, he wanted a part in the company, too. On his return, he took up a job in a Portland-based accounting firm while working on his business plan alongside. He offered product design ideas and in 1964, Blue Ribbon Sports was born. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. He began running at a young age, and he became a membe… With the Transformers movies producing diminishing returns at the box office, but still costing a fortune to make, Paramount Pictures hired Knight to direct a smaller (read: cheaper), character-driven take. Vinton soon stepped down, and the company was then renamed Laika. Need exclusive stories only we can tell? I'm Phil Knight, and I don't believe in advertising. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg. Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about, Matthew Knight died in a scuba diving accident in 2004 at age 34. He had about as much of an impact on my life as any one person could have. Introduction: Philip Hampson Phil Knight Biography is the co-founder of Nike, Inc., 1 of the world’s most prominent snowshoes and apparel vendors. Phil Knight Quotes. As a former athlete, Knight aspired to design products that the world’s top athletes would want to use. The logo was commissioned for $35, but when the company went public, Knight gave Davidson 500 shares of the company, as well as a diamond ring with the logo engraved on it. Do you agree? Their aggressive expansion strategy paid off and the company enjoyed more than $10 billion in yearly sales before 1999. In spite of the criticisms Nike remained one of the world’s largest shoemakers. Knight offered an endorsement deal to the tennis superstar John McEnroe, and this proved to be one of his best marketing moves. His father was a domineering though caring person who encouraged his son to push his limits. Knight met his wife, Penelope "Penny" Parks, while he was working at Portland State University and the pair were married on September 13, 1968. The critics say Knight, 45, succeeded. After graduating from Stanford, Knight decided to travel the world. Knight, chief executive of Hillsboro animation studio Laika, left Oregon last year to make the newest installment in the Transformers action franchise, “Bumblebee.”. He is the son of Penelope "Penny" (Parks) and Phil Knight (co-founder of Nike), and grandson of publisher William W. Knight.