• USA Today, Monday, December 7, 2009 10:37 AM

After four years as Phil Knight's hand-picked successor as CEO of Nike, Mark Parker is turning the brand into one that "follows you off the field into your life of digital socializing and New World hobbies," Bruce Horovitz writes, and the 37-year-old marketer is "at its ornery, nose-thumbing best and competing in all kinds of new arenas."

Parker has added the Umbro scoccer label to the company's portfolio, increased product customization options and made Nike.com an industry-leading etailer. Bucking industry sales trends, the company increased its market share by nearly 1% in 2008, and is gaining again this year, according to Sporting Goods Intelligence. Its brand value has moved from No. 31 in Interbrand's rankings to No. 26.

Insiders refer to Parker, who had a hand in the design of the Flywire mesh in the structure of Nike sneakers and apparel unveiled at the Beijing Olympics, as designer-in-chief. "The best way to stay cool is to not try to be cool," he says. "The consumer can smell a company trying to be cool a million miles away."

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