Sarah Mensah got a plum promotion at Nike on Tuesday, filling a vacancy created by a controversy over sneaker flippers.
Nike named Mensah its new vice president and general manager for North America. An executive with the Portland Trail Blazers before joining Nike in 2013, Mensah replaces Ann Hebert, who resigned suddenly last week.
Hebert’s departure came days after Bloomberg Businessweek reported on her 19-year-old son and his burgeoning sneaker reselling business.
Resellers use technology to buy large numbers of the most desired sneaker models the moment they come on the market and then resell them sometimes for big profits. Nike initially said Hebert had done nothing that conflicted with company policy and offered no explanation when she chose to resign soon afterwards.
Mensah was one of three senior executive changes announced by Nike Tuesday.
Amy Montagne will replace Mensah as vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific and Latin America. Montagne joined Nike in 2005 and was named a vice president in 2009.
Aaron Cain, a veteran of 17 years at the company, was named vice president and general manager of Nike’s men’s category.
These were the most senior executive changes made by Nike CEO John Donahoe since February 2020, when he named his initial team of top executives. Donahoe, a longtime member of Nike’s board, was tapped as its new top executive in October 2019.
