Serena Williams joins Nike’s Phil Knight at campus renaming celebration

Tennis legend Serena Williams handed out free T-shirts to employees on Nike’s campus Thursday afternoon, part of a weeklong celebration that honored co-founder Phil Knight.

But Nike’s culminating “Founder’s Week” bash wasn’t just an opportunity to hand out swag from the back of an orange Volkswagen van — a nod to the company’s scrappy DNA, when Knight and others sold shoes out of the trunks of cars.

Williams and Nike President Amy Montagne were also dispensing framed copies of Nike’s “principles,” an irreverent 1977 statement of the company’s core values that warned of the dangers of bureaucracy and encouraged employees to “stretch the possible.”

The celebration marked the renaming of the company’s 400-acre campus, now known as the Philip H. Knight Campus. The week’s events included a campus run, a basketball tournament, the launch of an exhibit about the company’s early days and brief remarks Thursday from the Nike co-founder.

Knight started Nike with Bill Bowerman and a $1,000 order for Japanese running shoes in 1964. It now generates $43.6 billion in annual sales, making it the largest company in Oregon history.

CEO Elliott Hill said he hopes the week serves as a reminder of Nike’s entrepreneurial feistiness and a call to action as the company continues mounting a comeback after drifting too far from its roots.

“It’s about anchoring our teammates today in the past, but more importantly, using those principles, these moments, to excite them and motivate them about the future,” Hill said after speaking to employees.

Hill has been pushing the reset button on Nike’s culture since he returned as chief executive in October 2024 after a brief retirement. He previously installed giant statues of Nike’s maxims – its five pithy guiding principles – around the campus. The maxims are updated versions of the 1977 principles that Williams handed out to employees Thursday.

Knight, 88, also spoke to employees, calling it a “very high honor” to have the campus named after him and reflecting on the moment he realized Nike had become “a special company.” He encouraged employees to continue making Nike a company “we like to work for.”

“He challenged all of us to continue to do great things on behalf of our consumers, our shareholders, and then ultimately the brand and the business,” Hill said.

Knight, Hill and Williams spoke near Prefontaine Hall, which serves as Nike’s on-campus exhibition space. Nike employees lined the patios around the area.

Click here to read article