Nike Pays Three C-Suite Lawyers $27.2 Million Amid Turnover

Nike Inc.'s Management makeover under new CEO Elliott Hill saw three executives with legal backgrounds collectively receive almost $27.2 million in total compensation during fiscal 2025.

A proxy filing late Thursday revealed that former chief legal officer Ann Miller earned nearly $10.2 million, as did Monique Matheson, a former employment lawyer at Lane Powell who has retired as Nike’s chief human resources officer. Robert Leinwand, an ex-deputy general counsel who was promoted to succeed Miller as Nike’s top lawyer, received a pay package valued at almost $6.9 million.

Leinwand, Miller, Matheson, and Nike didn’t respond to requests for comment. None of the three lawyers had previously been listed among the highest-paid executives at the company. Matheson joined Nike in 1998.

Nike’s stock price has recently rebounded from sagging sales and tariff woes. The Beaverton, Ore.-based company has revamped its management team since Hill returned in September. The sneaker leader’s struggles under former CEO John Donahoe, who led Nike for almost five years, led to a series of layoffs that affected numerous business divisions.

The reductions in force that began early last year impacted Nike’s law department, which was also affected by retirements that led to a reshuffling of some responsibilities, said two sources familiar with the matter. The changes extended to the C-suite, with Miller—a former Paul Hastings associate hired by Nike in 2007—becoming executive vice president for global sports marketing.

“Nike is known for recruiting and placing talent where it can most be leveraged,” said one lawyer familiar with Nike’s business. “In this case, its sports marketing function is the tip of the spear for its mission—to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”

As a legal veteran of the “Swoosh,” as the company is sometimes known for the emblematic trademark that adorns its apparel, Miller was often tasked with handling sensitive matters, such as internal investigations. A former colleague said Miller—who delivered the keynote address at her alma mater this year—has “in-depth knowledge” of the company’s business, operations, and risk.

Miller previously was Nike’s chief ethics and compliance officer, a title she relinquished in 2022 when the company tapped her to replace its retired legal chief Hilary Krane, now the top lawyer at Creative Artists Agency, a Hollywood talent giant that has done business with Nike.

Miller took over Nike’s sports marketing leadership from another attorney, John Slusher, who was hired to be CEO of a commercial joint venture between the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the organization responsible for putting on the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Slusher, who began his career at O’Melveny & Myers, is also the son of lawyer and sports agent Howard Slusher, a longtime confidant of Nike’s billionaire co-founder Phil Knight.

Legal Team Changes

Nike’s most recent proxy statement shows that Miller was paid $1.1 million in base salary and earned more than $9 million in stock options and awards. She owns nearly $3 million in Nike stock, according to Bloomberg data, which values Leinwand’s shares in the company at about $2.4 million.

Leinwand, who received about $795,000 in cash and $6 million in stock and option awards, ascended to Nike’s top legal job in November after previously overseeing litigation, investigations, brand protection, employment, and resilience at the company. Leinwand, a former partner at Littler Mendelson, has handled a variety of duties during his 21 years at Nike.

A source familiar with Leinwand’s work said Nike often moves its key legal personnel around to expose them to different parts of its business, including new geographies where they can “bring their experience to bear.”

Brian Fogarty, a former DLA Piper partner who has spent more than 14 years at Nike, last year was elevated to vice president of global IP and litigation for the company. DLA Piper has handled more than 8% of Nike’s caseload in US federal courts within the past five years, according to Bloomberg Law data, which shows that the bulk of that docket is IP litigation. Greer, Burns & Crain, an IP-focused law firm, has most often appeared as outside counsel for Nike in federal court.

Emily Whittenburg, who joined Nike in 2020 as a senior director of controversy and policy, last year took on the role of chief tax officer. This month Nike’s senior legal director for global ethics and compliance Casey Kaplan left to become vice president of compliance and regulatory affairs at the Lowe’s Cos. Inc. Kaplan’s exit followed that last year of Dominique Alepin, a former Nike assistant general counsel who handled ESG compliance, competition law, and privacy.

Matheson, who still owns more than $4.6 million in Nike stock, retired as HR chief on Jan. 6, according to the proxy. The company said in the filing that she would continue to receive her $1.1 million salary and remain eligible for other benefits, including the vesting of outstanding equity awards, while remaining employed in a non-executive role ahead of her official retirement in fiscal 2026.