Just Do It, Lead On: NIKE, Inc. President, CEO Elliott Hill ’86 Embodies the Mottos

Nike launched “Just Do It” in 1988. That year saw another debut at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon: a young intern from Texas Christian University named Elliott Hill ’86.   

Nike was taking off in 1988, having just signed a young athlete named Michael Jordan. Bo Jackson was a Nike spokesman; Ronaldo, too. Yet, the very first “Just Do It” TV commercial featured 80-year-old marathoner Walt Stack running across the Golden Gate Bridge.  

He was neither famous nor particularly notable, simply dedicated.  

The idea that greatness was in all of us is built into the Nike brand — and into Hill’s story. He was an intern who, 37 years later, is now leading the most iconic brand in the world. His story is the material of iconic Nike advertising slogans.

Nike, Dream Crazy (2019) 
“It’s only crazy until you do it. Just do it.” 

The first thing you should know about Hill’s path from TCU kinesiology student to Nike President and CEO is that it almost didn’t start at TCU. 

“I probably shouldn’t have gone to TCU for many reasons,” Hill said. “Financially was reason number one, having been raised by a single mom who worked as a schoolteacher.” 

But all the reasons he loved TCU — being in Dallas/Fort Worth, its size, its big-time athletics — overrode any hesitation. He landed a job as a trainer in the athletics department to help pay his way. 

Hill originally thought he’d be a doctor, though he quickly realized that what he truly loved was athletics, the thrill of competition and the magic of teams. He wanted to work in sports but never dreamed of being president and CEO of NIKE, Inc.  

Enter Jamie Dixon ’87 — now TCU head men’s basketball coach — who played on one of those Horned Frog teams.  

“Are you asking me if I thought the guy taping my ankles was going to end up the CEO of Nike? No,” Dixon said. “But everybody on that team knew he had charisma. He had attitude, energy and positivity. You saw that he had great people skills and a joy in what he was doing.” 

Dixon, his teammate Matt Minnis ’86, and so many of Hill’s closest friendships started in the TCU dorms, and many of those friends returned to Fort Worth in April when Hill and his wife, Gina, attended the dedication of a new TCU residence hall named in their honor. They laughed as Hill talked about late nights and pranks.  

“I’m just grateful Gina and I are able to support the scholarships and the dorms,” Hill said to the audience. “We are incredibly proud because we believe these investments make a difference, and they can change people’s lives.” 

There is a why behind the Hills’ name being on a residence hall, just like there is a why for the couple funding a scholarship for future educators.  

“Both my wife and I were raised by single-mom educators. So, we grew up with a strong understanding of the importance of education,” Hill said. “The reason we’re so involved at TCU is because of what TCU did for me, for us — it helped open me up to the world. It’s also a way to give back to the students, to the university and the faculty, to help shape and guide the next generation of leaders.”  

Opportunity enables crazy dreams and innovative leaders. Hill said he honed his leadership style from being a student at TCU and a member of TCU’s Board of Trustees and from Chancellor Emeritus Victor J. Boschini, Jr.  

“My very first meeting, you taught me about the three T’s,” Hill said, looking at Boschini in the audience. “That I needed to learn to share my time, my talent and my treasure. I appreciate that lecture. It meant a lot to me. I learned a lot from you on how you operate. I’m grateful for being a part of the Board of Trustees, and you helping coach and teach me along the way.” 

Nike, Find Your Greatness (2012) 
“Somehow, we have come to believe greatness is a gift reserved for the chosen few. For prodigies, for superstars and the rest of us can only stand by watching. You can forget that. Greatness is not some rare DNA strand. It’s not some precious thing. Greatness is no more unique to us than breathing. We are all capable of it. All of us.”  

Nike had many iterations of this commercial — a young diver on the highest platform, women’s water polo, etc. — in the lead up to the London Olympics. The best was a young man jogging down a lonely, paved road, slowly, with labored breath, the “Find Your Greatness” script playing in the background.

The message was clear: Greatness isn’t given, it’s made, one decision at a time. That sums up Hill’s start. After graduating from TCU in 1986, he worked for the Dallas Cowboys, earned a master’s degree from Ohio University and then went to intern for Nike as an apparel sales representative in Memphis.

Hill’s journey was a little like the jogger in the Nike commercial — steady, determined, forward. 

He spent the next 32 years with Nike, touching what had to feel like every side of the business and every rung of the ladder — going from intern to sales to senior leadership positions across Europe and North America. Dixon remembers being at a Nike coaches’ summit where Hill gave a speech after being promoted to one of his bigger roles.  

“It was electric. He owned the room,” Dixon said. “Coaches were coming up to me saying, ‘You were with this guy at TCU? He’s incredible.’” 

Hill met his wife at Nike. They had two kids and built an incredible life from a dream that started at TCU. What propelled him are the same traits he now encourages students and young athletes to embrace to navigate a world that is impossible to stay ahead of.  

“TCU students today are being prepared for jobs that don’t even exist,” Hill said. “My challenge to those students is to always remain curious, to keep your eyes and ears open, to ask questions, and to always challenge yourself, to listen and to learn — because the world will always continue to shift around you.”  

When you talk to people about Hill, they tend to echo Dixon, noting his optimism, energy, genuine interest in people and dedication to giving back. What Hill will tell you is that he learned the “why” is more important than the “what,” the people more than the product, the stories more than the pitch.  

“We have this idea at Nike of putting the athlete at the center of everything we do,” Hill said, noting that the company believes if you have a body, you are an athlete. “To make certain we have deep, personal connections and that we are there to serve those athletes. Because when you have that relationship, it’s the insights you gain that drive our innovation.” 

Nike, Why Do It (2025) 
“Why do it? Why would you make it harder on yourself? Why chance it? Why put it on the line, with so much at stake? With so much room to fail? Why risk it? Why would you dare? Seriously why? You can give everything you have and still lose. But my question is what if you don’t?” 

Hill retired from NIKE, Inc. in 2020, but it did not last long. In 2024, Nike asked him to return as the president and CEO amid increased competition and a dynamic global environment.  

While Nike had yet to release its new “Why Do It?” campaign, the question was a valid one for Hill.  

“I think the world needs more hand-raisers,” Hill said. “So, if I had any advice, it’s ‘Don’t be a finger-pointer. Raise your hand instead.’” 

His hand went in the air, and he stepped into the role nearly a year ago. By choosing to return, he modeled saying yes. He demonstrated the courage it takes to dare. For the next generation and future Horned Frogs, he lived the central tenet of the new Nike “Just Do It” campaign, which frames greatness as a choice, not an outcome. 

“It’s easy for all of us to be cynics, to be apprehensive about the future,” Hill said. “The challenge for us in these times is to drown out the noise and focus on what we can control. What we can control is sharing those gifts, our time, our treasure, our talents, so we make this a better world.” 

Just do it, indeed. 

-Jen Floyd Engel