President, Nike Subsidiaries
Beaverton, Oregon
When Lee Bird began looking at colleges, he had no idea where life would take him. Nineteen years, six states, and four industries later, he's convinced he made the right choice selecting Ithaca.
Competitive by nature, a swimmer by desire, Bird sought a school that would challenge him both academically and athletically, one that encouraged balance, focused on leadership, and came without compromise. He found just that at Ithaca.
He took advantage of the College's intimate, hands-on academic philosophy, combined it with the competitive lessons learned as an NCAA Division III all-American swimmer, and unlocked the doors to a remarkably successful--and remarkably wide-ranging--professional career.
Upon graduation, Bird became a commercial lender at BayBanks and studied nights to earn his M.B.A. from Babson. Next came executive positions at Ford, Allied Signal, Gateway, Gap North America, and finally Nike Subsidiaries, which include Cole Haan, Bauer Nike Hockey, and Converse. There were surprising challenges at every step, but he discovered that Ithaca had prepared him well.
"I always thought of myself as a multidisciplinary person, and Ithaca supported that," he says. "At Ithaca you get a practical business education with broader exposure to just about any subject you want. That kind of variety is remarkable. And Ithaca is such a melting pot. There are people from all over, with every kind of background and belief. I learned to work with people from very diverse backgrounds; that's been very important to me."
He also appreciates the close faculty mentoring he received. Indeed, some 20 years after graduation, Bird maintains close ties to his Ithaca finance professor, Raquib Zaman. "I could have gone to a lot of larger schools and never had that experience, never had that opportunity," he says. "That's something students considering business schools should keep in mind."
