In May, while unveiling the newest iPad at an Apple event, CEO Tim Cook wore a custom-made, one-of-a-kind pair of Nike sneakers whose decorative stitching included the words “Made on iPad.” 

It wasn’t just a collab between Apple and Nike. As Bloomberg reminds readers, Cook has been on Nike’s board since 2005, when Cook was still second banana at Apple under Steve Jobs and the iPhone did not yet exist in the world. 

It’s a bigger commitment than some might imagine. According to Bloomberg, Cook is not just Nike’s lead independent director and its compensation committee chair, but as part of a needed turnaround story right now at Nike, Cook helped secure former Nike exec Elliott Hill as the company’s newest CEO.

Hill, who began as an intern at Nike and retired in 2020, returned last week to replace former eBay CEO John Donahoe, who Cook had earlier endorsed for the top job. Faced with slowing growth in China amid other challenges, Donahoe lasted just four years in the role.