Nine-year Nike veteran Ron Faris, who served as vice president and general manager of Nike Virtual Studios, has left the company, the executive said in a LinkedIn post Saturday. Faris is now senior vice president of marketing for Disney Consumer Products.
Faris previously held leadership roles across Nike’s Snkrs app, Nbhd and the brand’s digital studio in New York City. After Faris’ departure, the Nike Virtual Studios team will report to interim leader Dave Vericker and will be nested under the Energy and Nbhd team, according to an internal memo.
Nike did not respond to questions about whether the departure was related to a broader pullback from virtual efforts.
“It’s rare to be at a place where you can innovate and shape culture at scale,” Faris said. “Throughout my journey at the Swoosh, there were many people across SNKRS, NBHD, and Nike Virtual Studios who helped shape my perspective to grow both as a leader and as a storyteller. I thank all those teams deeply (across global and across the geographies) for partnering to help shape our path forward for nearly a decade.”
Nike invested deeply in virtual efforts a few years ago when metaverse initiatives were all the rage, including launching .Swoosh, a marketplace for trading and collecting virtual products, and acquiring virtual products and experiences company Rtfkt. The retailer also experimented with Roblox experiences and launched its first virtual collection in 2023.
Nike shut down Rtfkt in January and both the site and Rtfkt’s page on X now feature “The Death Blade,” signaling the end of the company.
“For every forger, dreamer, and believer who joined us in breaking reality – this final piece is yours,” the company wrote.
Nike did not respond to questions about its larger digital strategy and whether there are any plans to scale back .Swoosh or other initiatives. Nike did lay off a “limited” number of tech employees earlier this year, but those were connected to the movement of some systems, applications and products work to managed services.
“We’ve built a playbook that will energize a next generation consumer through powerful brand concepts and stories, audacious products, immersive experiences, and surreal consumer journeys,” Faris said on LinkedIn. “I can’t wait to see where you all take it next!”