His exit follows a recent executive shake-up at the sportswear giant marked by allegations of misconduct
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Nike’s VP of diversity and inclusion is the latest executive to leave as the sportswear giant works on reforming its workplace culture.
The company declined to give further details of Antoine Andrews’ departure, who had joined Nike in 2015.
Among the first of the company’s executives to leave was brand president Trevor Edwards, who resigned immediately after complaints about poor workplace conduct surfaced about a month ago in an internal memo.
Edwards was a potential successor for CEO Mark Parker and will remain as a consultant in the corporate transition until he officially retires in August.
Following Edwards abrupt exit was the departure of Nike’s VP and general manager of global categories, Jayme Martin, reported CNBC.
The memo that sparked the domino effect of exits stated that the company had received complaints “of some behavioural issues that are inconsistent with Nike’s values of inclusivity, respect and empowerment”.
A Nike spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that there were complaints against Martin but none against Edwards.
The complaints were made known after Parker was alerted to an informal survey in which women described inappropriate behaviour and discrimination.
Earlier this month, the company’s HR chief detailed the brand’s struggle with promoting diversity in an internal memo to employees. The contents alleged that the company had “failed to gain traction” in hiring and promoting women and minorities.
Parker said Nike will be reviewing the company’s protocol for dealing with internal complaints.
In a memo last week, Parker lauded those who came forward with the allegations as “strong and courageous employees”.
“This has been a very difficult time and we are still talking to team members to better understand what we need to change,” he said.
