8 Leadership Lessons from Nike CFO Andy Campion

By Golie Alemi

Double Bruin Andy Campion (B.A. ’93, ’03) returned to campus to join Dean Judy Olian for a discussion on leadership as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Campion was appointed chief financial officer of Nike in 2015, succeeding Donald W. Blair, who served as the company’s CFO since 1999. Campion joined Nike in 2007 as vice president of global planning and development; in that role he was responsible for managing Nike’s long-range financial and strategic planning. Appointed chief financial officer of the Nike Brand in 2010, his new duties included leading all aspects of financial management for the company’s flagship brand. In 2014, he was appointed senior vice president of strategy, finance and investor relations, in addition to his role as CFO.

Campion kicked off the event by quoting NBA great Michael Jordan: “Talent wins games, teamwork wins championships.” Leadership comes with many qualities, Campion said; but for his part, he doesn’t subscribe to a philosophy that suggests people are born leaders. Rather, he believes that leadership is a skill developed over time.

Nike is known as one of the most motivational brands, and Campion says it starts with their mission. The culture within the organization espouses the motto: “Our personal best is something that is always in front of us.” In other words, there is no finish line. Having worked with some great leaders, including Disney CEO Bob Iger, Campion advised students that it’s necessary to consolidate learnings gained from others you meet along your journey. He said it’s only when you reflect on lessons you’ve learned that you realize how valuable they are. And certain lessons keep “coming back to you because they are more powerful.”

Here are eight tips on leadership from Andy Campion:

1. Have Vision. If you expect people to follow you, you have to know where you’re going.
2. Be comfortable leveraging intuition. Truly innovative ideas are not conceived on a spreadsheet.
3. You learn how to be a learner from others. When people share experiences, leverage those lessons because they will help develop the intuition required to innovate.
4. The best ideas don’t always go through, but the best plans do. Take the framework you learn in b-school and apply it against any intuitive idea you can.
5. Be an optimist. Companies are fueled by creativity. Pessimism stifles creativity.
6. Ask a lot of questions — don’t make a lot of statements.
7. Business is a team sport, but at the same time you must continually seek the best talent.
8. Allow for collaboration among cross-functional teams in large organizations. You have to fuel the culture of the name on the front of the jersey versus the name on the back. Ultimately, you will get more accomplished if you aren’t worried about who gets the credit.