Non-Executive Employee, Nike Inc
Trendsetters: Nike's Heidi O'Neill | Womanica
This special bonus episode is brought to you by Nike. Heidi O'Neill is Nike's President of Consumer, Product & Brand. In more ...
About Heidi O'neill
Heidi O'Neill, President of Consumer, Product & Brand at Nike, has overseen the company's direct-to-consumer operations, including Nike.com and Nike retail stores. In 2021, she stated that Nike's digital business was "on fire," reporting 83 percent growth in Q1 and noting that the company had achieved its 2023 digital penetration goal of 30 percent three years early. During the COVID-19 pandemic, O'Neill described the company's global reopening playbook, which included contactless services such as self-checkout and a "click to try or click to buy" feature using the Nike app. She also highlighted that Nike had launched its first maternity collection, the Nike M Collection, and was investing in extended sizing for women. O'Neill has been with Nike since 1998, when she wrote a white paper advocating for a greater focus on women consumers, leading to her role as the first general manager of North America apparel. She noted that the team created the first Swoosh bra, worn by Brandi Chastain at the 1999 Women's World Cup. In 2017, O'Neill discussed Nike's reorganization to prioritize consumer relationships, stating that members were worth three times the value of anonymous consumers. She also addressed Nike's stance on social issues, saying the company "takes stands outside the arena of sport" and has always stood for equality.
Transcript (24 segments)
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Narrator0:00
This season, your coffee orders are getting warmer and your outfits are getting cozier. The world keeps changing, and so does COVID-19. That's why this season's COVID-19 shots have been updated. They're one of the best ways to help protect yourself against COVID-19. You can get a COVID-19 shot at the same visit as a flu shot if you're due for both, as recommended by the CDC. Talk to your health care provider to learn more and schedule at vaccines.gov. And don't forget to get extra cinnamon spice. Sponsored by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Do you hear it? The clock is ticking. It's time for the new season of 60 Minutes. The CBS News Sunday night tradition is back for its 56th season with all new big name interviews, hard-hitting investigations, and epic adventures. No place, no one, no story is off limits. And you'll always learn something new. It's time for 60 Minutes. New season begins Sunday, September 17th on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.
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Jenny Kaplan1:04
Hello from at work. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica. This month we've been talking about trendsetters: women whose vision, style, and willingness to break barriers change culture from what we wear to how we behave. On July 10, 1999, in sunny Pasadena, California, Brandi Chastain launched a shot heard round the world. Her penalty kick earned the U.S. women's soccer team the title of World Cup champs. In her moment of glory, she took her shirt off and spun it around her head, leaving her in an iconic sports bra. For those of us who lived through that moment, you can probably see it in your head. That image was made possible by the woman we're talking about today. I'm Heidi O'Neill, president of consumer product and brand at Nike. In more than 25 years at Nike, Heidi's been a key driver of the business in many roles, including as the instigator of Nike's women's apparel division.
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Heidi O'Neill2:23
And when I say small, I mean small, not big and fancy today style. And I strung tennis rackets in the summer and I waxed skis in the winter. And then my dad would want to get some publicity for the store, so he would send me out and have me do cross-country ski clinics. And he wanted to get even more publicity, so he would have me cross-country ski to school on blizzard days.
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Jenny Kaplan2:50
Heidi's early life was intertwined with a love of sports and an understanding of their ability to create community. Every weekend her family came together to do something active.
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Heidi O'Neill3:01
You know, I was never that crazy great athlete. You know, I dabbled and I tried, I tried, but I just love sport through and through.
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Jenny Kaplan3:10
Despite not being a professional athlete, Heidi found a different way to combine a love of sport with business acumen.
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Heidi O'Neill3:17
As I was working out in San Francisco, had no idea Nike might be part of my life for my journey. And I was working in marketing and I was working for a brand that was just struggling with their identity. They didn't know who they were, what they stood for. And of course it was my job to try to fix it. And I just finished working out. I was in the women's locker room and I took off my sports bra and I looked at it. It was a Nike, of course. And the sports bra said on the bra, 'Engineered to the exact specifications of championship athletes.' And I thought, that is incredible. That brand knows exactly who they are and what they stand for and what they believe. And they know it's so to their core that they're willing to put it on their products. That was a moment for me that just showed me what a powerful brand Nike is and what powerful brands can do if they have true values. And so then maybe two months later, Nike called.
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Jenny Kaplan4:16
Soon after her work at Nike began, Heidi made a move that not only changed her trajectory at the company but also the future of sports for women and girls around the world.
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Heidi O'Neill4:26
As I had come in in marketing for apparel, my job was essentially to work with the designers and the product leaders and make sure I was telling great stories about their product. And so, you know, running around the offices talking to all the great designers and coming from advertising and another fashion brand, I thought, where is the women's division? There's no apparel women's division here. So I guess I was close enough to being out of school that I spent weekends and nights and I wrote a white paper. And the white paper said we need to focus on women nine to five, not five to seven at night. And so this is what I love about Nike. I brought the white paper to my boss and I said, you know, we need to focus on women. And this is 1998. And he said, great. He said, not only will we, would you please be the first general manager of North America apparel? So that's where I flipped my career from marketing to general management. It was a really important move. And you know, the irony around that move and us being here today is that was in 98 and our team created the first Swoosh bra, which is what Brandi Chastain wore at the 1999 Women's World Cup.
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Jenny Kaplan5:46
In 1999, that moment, that victory inspired a generation of soccer players to hit the field. This year, a record number of viewers watched the tournament once again.
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Heidi O'Neill6:02
To me, why it matters most is as I think about those viewers and I know at least millions of those are kids, you know, young girls, young boys too. And you know, they're watching this World Cup and I think it makes them dream bigger. I hope it makes them think, that could be me, that could be me one day. And if this moment and this support for our athletes could just keep a few more, frankly, girls in sport, that is so important. Girls are falling out of sport faster, they can't find their sport. So for me, I think it matters the most for supporting the next generation of female athletes.
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Jenny Kaplan6:52
From her early days at Nike to today, Heidi has continued her advocacy for women.
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Heidi O'Neill6:59
I've been in just about every division: global, geo, footwear, apparel, retail. Now what I'm doing is essentially the management of our full global engine of product and marketing. But all along the way, my advocacy for women has been at the core and still is, which is why I'm here.
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Jenny Kaplan7:20
Nike's created an athlete think tank to bring together players and coaches from around the world to continue improving women's sports. In the past couple of years, Nike has doubled its investment in research and development around women.
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Heidi O'Neill7:34
What our ambition is is for Nike to be the biggest champion for women and girls in sport, period. Just in the last couple years, we've made some pretty massive shifts that I'm proud of. In our Nike Sports Research Lab, which you have to come see, it's incredible, we now are demanding that 70% of our participants are women in the research lab. That's led to new products that cater to real wants and needs, like a new line of walking, jogging, running shoes. It's also led to programs supporting a broader view of the core tenets of wellness.
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Jenny Kaplan8:10
Over the past 25 years, Heidi's views on the subject have expanded too.
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Heidi O'Neill8:15
You know, I came to Nike for my love of sport and my relationship with sport has definitely changed. And I would say it's changed the way it's even changing at Nike because I looked at Nike as an amazing brand but as a basketball and hardcore running. And now my relationship with sport has evolved the way Nike's evolving to be about movement for sure, but about mindfulness, recovery, nutrition. And I think we're actually moving the brand to a beautiful place for women that is very much represents my journey in sport as well.
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Jenny Kaplan8:56
While much has changed for women in sports, it's important to note there's work left to do.
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Heidi O'Neill9:02
At Nike, we believe there's no finish line. And if you think about the 50 years of Nike and five decades of supporting women and my 25 years, I guess I'm half Nike life. I'm so proud of what we've done, but I also know we have so much more to do and we have so much potential.
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Jenny Kaplan9:22
Special thanks to Nike for these bonus episodes and for the opportunity to interview these amazing women in Australia at the World Cup. Talk to you on Monday.
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Narrator9:36
Do you hear it? The clock is ticking. It's time for the new season of 60 Minutes. The CBS News Sunday night tradition is back for its 56th season with all new big name interviews, hard-hitting investigations, and epic adventures. No place, no one, no story is off limits. And you'll always learn something new. It's time for 60 Minutes. New season begins Sunday, September 17th on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.
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