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A Nike vice president left on Monday amid swirling questions about his family’s role in the turbulent sneaker resale markets. Ann Hebert resigned as head of Nike’s North American operations just days after the company defended her and claimed she had not violated any company policies.
Bloomberg Businessweek magazine reported on February 25 about his 19-year-old son Joe Hebert and his fast-growing sneaker company.
The article is full of anecdotes about Joe Hebert’s exploits in the aftermarket sneaker market. His company, West Coast Streetwear, figured out how to use technology and chutzpah to buy hot sneakers in bulk before the rest of the market. They then regularly resell the shoes with good profit margins.
The secondary market for sneakers has grown huge. It has the power to turn a disappointing shoe into a big seller. The big companies that design the products and manufacture them, like Nike and Adidas, seem to be accepting it.
Joshua Hunt wrote the original Bloomberg story. He’s no stranger to Nike. He wrote “The University of Nike,” a hard-hitting look at the close relationship between Nike co-founder Phil Knight and the University of Oregon.
“I haven’t decided to write another story on Nike,” he told the Oregonian / OregonLive Monday. “I just knew there was something interesting going on in this burgeoning sneaker aftermarket, so I went looking for a character to tell this story and came across Joe.
Hunt writes that one day on the phone with Joe Hebert, he saw Ann Hebert’s name on the Caller ID. He did some research and found out that she was vice president of Nike.
He eventually asked Joe Hebert about his mother. The young entrepreneur insisted that his mother was not involved at all and then stopped communicating with Hunt.
Hunt then took to Nike for comment. Sandra Carreon-John, a spokesperson for Nike, said Ann Hebert leaked relevant information about West Coast Streetwear to Nike in 2018.
“There has been no violation of company policy, inside information or conflicts of interest, or any business affiliation between WCS LLC and Nike, including the direct purchase or sale of Nike products.” , Carreon-John said.
Everything changed on Monday. After more than 25 years in the company, Ann Hebert was absent. She had gotten a big promotion just eight months ago, becoming vice president and general manager of North American operations, one of Nike’s most important jobs.
In this role, Ann Hebert led sales, marketing, merchandising and other departments.
Contacted for comment on Monday, Nike’s Carreon-John said only that “Ann Hebert has made the decision to quit Nike.”
The story comes nearly a month after Errol Andam, a former Nike marketing executive, was charged with fraud and money laundering in federal court while working for the company. He allegedly directed Nike’s work to a friend’s company in which he secretly had an interest.
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