Nike US Head Resigns Following Reports About Son's Sneaker Reselling Business

Nike Inc. on Monday announced that the vice president and general manager of its North America division is departing the company days after a report revealed her ties to a sneaker resale business.

Ann Hebert, who rose up the ranks at Nike to become its head of North America, is leaving the global company after a Bloomberg report revealed that her son, Joe Hebert, owns a resale business and has used her credit card to purchase sneakers.

Her abrupt exit marks the end of her 25-year tenure at the sneaker and apparel juggernaut. Nike said it would likely announce a new North American division head soon.

Hebert's departure comes just a week after Bloomberg Businessweek published an article about Hebert's 19-year-old son Joe. The report revealed that he had used his mother's credit card to purchase at least $132,000 worth of limited-edition shoes and sell them for more money through his resale business, West Coast Streetwear.

During an interview with the New York-based publication, Joe acknowledged that Ann Hebert is his mother. However, he said she has never offered him inside information about Nike.

“When I asked Hebert about the connection later that year, he acknowledged that Ann was his mother and said that, while she’d inspired him as a businessperson, she was so high up at Nike as to be removed from what he does, and that he’d never received inside information such as discount codes from her,” Bloomber Business' Joshua Hunt wrote in the article.

A Nike spokeswoman later revealed that Ann disclosed information about West Coast Streetwear to Nike in 2018.

The Bloomberg Business piece also revealed that Joe was buying products from other retailers, including Adidas items, Supreme T-shirts and Sony’s PlayStation 5 console, and flipping them for profit.

“We botted Walmart and Target pretty hard,” he told Bloomberg, referring to the PS5 consoles. “I ended up with 24 of them and made between $300 and $500 on each one.”

Ann Hebert began working with Nike in 1995. She held various sales roles before being promoted to more prominent positions, including head of Nike’s Latin American divisions. She became vice president and general manager of Nike’s North America business in June 2020.