Massimo Giunco, Nike’s former marketing chief who served the company for over 20 years, criticized the group’s management decisions on social media, claiming they have led Nike into its worst crisis in nearly 20 years. Giunco pointed out that the Nike management team, led by CEO John Donahoe, was overly confident and, in an effort to enhance data-driven capabilities and optimize organizational costs, ended up laying off a large number of employees and losing its innovative edge. This resulted in Nike losing decades of experience in the sports segment. Additionally, Giunco described Nike’s accelerated DTC (direct-to-consumer) strategy as a strategic blunder that strained relationships with wholesale partners and provided opportunities for emerging brands like Hoka and On to capture market share.