Nike has named Michael Hunter vice president and general manager of Nike Japan, according to FashionUnited France. His appointment is set to take effect in September 2026. Hunter himself announced the appointment in a LinkedIn post.
This appointment comes after a career spanning more than 19 years at the company. Michael Hunter had held the position of general manager of Nike Canada since August 2022, leading a team of more than 130 full-time employees from the Toronto headquarters, as well as more than 1,400 employees across the country's distribution and retail networks.
His return to the helm of Japan is not new territory for him. Between September 2017 and August 2022, he had already held the position of senior director, marketplace partners at Nike Japan, where he oversaw, among other things, the commercial plans linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
An international career at Nike
Before these roles, Michael Hunter had held several international commercial positions for Nike: senior sales director for Nike Russia from October 2015 to August 2017, sales director for Nike Greece from September 2012 to September 2015, then head of sales for the Middle East, based in Dubaï, from March 2011 to August 2012.
He joined Nike in September 2007 through the company's management development programme, in Hilversum, in the Pays-Bas. Auparavant, he had worked as global project manager and journalist for VEGA media, a company based in Espagne, from April 2001 to June 2005.
Nike Japan will therefore welcome in September 2026 an executive already familiar with the Japanese market, with recent experience gained at the helm of the brand's Canadian operations.
