Nike’s new CEO seems like the career ladder is still intact, but even his story shows us it’s not.

The headlines about Elliott Hill have highlighted his history of 32 years at Nike – starting as an intern and now being named CEO.

The 32 years he spent at Nike and the career trajectory he took over those 32 years do seem like a story from the 1950s, but his career trajectory also suggests how much that story isn’t possible.

He started at Nike in 1988.

He left in 2020. (This article refers to it as retirement, but his LinkedIn profile suggests he was working pretty hard as a Board Member for multiple companies and organizations, a Senior Advisor for a merchant bank, and a founder of his own business.)

Now that the current CEO has created a mess at Nike, and four years after he left, they are bringing him back to right the ship.

So, even in this “classic” story, he had to leave before being considered for the CEO position.

I wish him well, but let’s not pretend like this story of going from an internship to running the company is possible. It wasn’t technically possible for him either.

If Hill had not left, it’s entirely possible he would have been laid off in July, like many other senior leaders at Nike.

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