Ernie Rose ’86 didn’t end up managing a $10 billion division and 14 international offices for Nike without knowing a thing or two about operating in a complex corporate environment.
But it wasn’t always clear – at least to Rose, vice president of global apparel operations at Nike – that he would have that kind of a career. Looking back now, Rose credits the personal attention and mentoring he received as a college student with giving him the foundation he needed.
Rose credits the “small community feel” and “easy access to professors” at Linfield with helping him become a serious student. Meanwhile, he was putting in countless hours on the practice field and in the classroom with the football team under Hall of Fame Coach Ad Rutschman ’54. Rose was part of a three-quarterback starting rotation for much of the 1984 season that ended with a small-college national championship, but it was watching Rutschman analyze opponents and craft game plans off the field that left the biggest impression.
“That really taught me a lot about how I operate today,” Rose says. “There’s a term we use at Nike: Be on the offense always. For me, a lot of what that means, of how I interpret it, of how I prepare and do my job, comes from Ad’s chalk talks at Linfield.”
Scott Bernard Nelson ’94
