Nike hires former Salesforce executive as CIO in tech division shakeup

Nike Inc. has hired a former Salesforce Inc. executive in a new role to lead efforts to modernize technology infrastructure for the world’s largest sportswear company.

Cheryan Jacob, who has also previously worked at Microsoft Corp. and Flexport Inc., was named Nike’s chief information officer this month, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg.

“The CIO will play a key role in delivering on our priority of simplifying, standardizing and modernizing our platforms,” Chief Technology Officer Muge Erdirik Dogan told employees in the memo. 

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Nike’s global technology division — which develops systems, manages data and provides engineering support — has been a critical part of the retailer’s years-long push to sell more products through its own direct-to-consumer channels, including its websites and apps.

The department has gone through several changes in recent years under Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe. Last year, Nike’s top tech executive, Ratnakar Lavu, resigned. In November, Nike brought on Dogan, a longtime Amazon.com Inc. fashion executive.

New job listings at Nike include senior engineering positions that will be assigned to “the transformation of Nike foundational infrastructure.”

A spokesperson for Nike declined to comment on the hiring. Jacob didn’t respond to a request for comment.