Nike Inc. (NKE:NYSE)

Nike Inc. has named Michael Spillane as the new CEO of its Converse unit, replacing Jack Boys who is retiring at the end of the year. As CEO of the Converse athletic footwear and apparel brand, he will report directly to Eunan McLaughlin, president of Nike Inc. Affiliates. Spillane joined Converse in 2007 as president of North American Footwear, and less than a year later was tasked with leading growth around the apparel business as president, North America and Global Product. Prior to that he held CEO positions at Polartec and Malden Mills as well as senior positions at Tommy Hilfiger and Jockey.

Nike Inc. announced that Michaela (Michi) Stitz has been named as Vice President of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Stitz will be responsible for driving continued market leadership and growth for the CEE geography, replacing Marc van Pappelendam, who was recently named as VP of the UK/Ireland territory. Stitz has extensive management experience and a diverse commercial background. She moved on to become Sales Director for Nike Germany, and then after briefly taking a break to move back to Austria, Stitz returned to Nike 18 months ago as GM of Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland (AGSS).

Nike Inc. unveiled a new concept in game improvement: a unique digital coaching experience called Nike Soccer+, launched alongside the new CTR360 Maestri boot-a soccer boot crafted for the player looking to master control and make the difference come match day. A unique user-code that comes with every pair of the boots allows access to exclusive training content from some of the biggest names in the game including Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal and Andres Iniesta of FC Barcelona. The Nike Soccer+and CTR360 boot connect innovative product design with the virtual and physical world of training to help improve player performance. Included with all CTR360 Maestri boots is a card with a unique user code. When entered online at www.nikesoccer.com this code unlocks unique user content to enable players to be trained by the experts. This training tool is also available as an Apple(R) App available for iPhone and iPod. Nike Soccer+ensures players can connect with each other tracking and posting scores associated with different training drills.