Nike says Elliott Hill will replace John Donahoe as CEO in October. Nike has struggled to turn around its business over the last year.

Athleisure: Nike said on Thursday that Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe will retire after more than five years at the helm as the sportswear giant shakes up its top rank amid efforts to revive sales and battle rising competition.

Elliott Hill started at Nike as an intern in 1988 but steadily scaled its ranks, banking on values of grit and hard work ingrained in him as the son of a single mom in a working class Texas neighborhood.

With Nike's new incoming CEO Elliott Hill, Nike needs to re-focus on innovation and selling great stories around its shoes, an analyst told BI.

The company looks to shake things up as demand for its trainers falters in international markets.

Nike, struggling from rising competition and its own strategy mistakes, is making a major shakeup. The athletic giant announced Thursday that CEO John Donahoe will retire next month and will be replaced by Elliott Hill,

Nike Inc. ousted beleaguered chief executive John Donahoe, bringing longtime executive Elliott Hill out of retirement to return the struggling athletic brand to its glory days.

Nike on Thursday announced it would replace CEO John Donahoe with his former colleague, Elliott Hill, sending the stock soaring on the news. Hill, 60, is returning to Nike four years after retiring from the sneaker giant.