Nike has announced chief executive Mark Parker will step down from the role next year, just weeks after the company’s Oregon Project closed down.
Earlier this month head coach Alberto Salazar was banned for four years after being found guilty of doping violations.
Parker had backed Salazar and said Nike would support him in any appeal.
Parker will become Nike’s executive chairman in January and will be replaced by John Donahoe.
Nike said Parker would “continue to lead the board of directors and work closely with Donahoe and the senior management team”.
On October 11 Nike released a statement saying the Salazar situation had become “an unfair burden” on athletes on the elite training programme.
“We made the decision to wind down the Oregon Project to allow the athletes to focus on their training and competition needs,” Nike said at the time.
“We will help all of our athletes in this transition as they choose the coaching set-up that is right for them.”
Parker sent an internal memo calling the Salazar situation a “distraction” for Nike Oregon Project (NOP) athletes.
Salazar’s ban followed a four-year investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) and a two-year court battle behind closed doors.
The 61-year-old American said he will appeal against the ruling, which Nike has said it will support.
Nike also stressed the Usada findings that performance-enhancing drugs had not been used on or by NOP athletes.
The NOP, based in Beaverton, Oregon, was established in 2001 and was the home of British four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah between 2011 and 2017.
