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As vice president and chief financial officer, Donald Blair is responsible for leading Nike’s finance function. His responsibilities include accounting and reporting, financial planning, budgeting and forecasting, treasury and foreign exchange management, tax planning and compliance, risk management, internal audits and investor relations.
Before joining Nike, Don worked for PepsiCo for 15 years, where he held a series of senior domestic and international finance and planning positions. His last position at PepsiCo was vice president of finance for the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, the $7 billion, publicly-traded manufacturer and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages.
Don also served as vice president of planning for PepsiCo’s Pizza Hut division in Dallas, Texas, and spent six years in Asia, first as finance director for Pepsi-Cola Japan and then as vice president of finance for Pepsi-Cola’s Asia division.
Outside of Nike, Don enjoys the endless pursuit of a better golf score. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and his two small boys.
The coolest thing about working at Nike, according to Don, is the challenge of running a great business team. Don says his job is similar to that of a basketball coach. Like a basketball coach, managing a great business team requires establishing a solid game plan and then relying on the team to make independent decisions that fall within that framework. It also requires the right combination of discipline, talent and intuition.I assemble the team, help the players understand the rules and objectives of the game, give them the training and tools to do their job, and then let them play the game, he says.
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