Nike’s North America boss quits after her son used her credit card to flip limited edition sneakers for profit

Company confirms that ‘Ann Hebert made the decision to resign’

The general manager of Nike’s North America division has resigned, following reports that her teenage son used a credit card in her name to buy limited edition trainers to sell for a profit.

Ann Hebert, who had worked at Nike for more than 25 years, stepped down from the company on Monday effective immediately, with her replacement expected to be announced shortly.

Nike told The Independent on Tuesday that “Ann Hebert made the decision to resign”, but did not elaborate any further on the reasoning behind her resignation. The Independent has contacted Ms Hebert for comment.

The decision came less than a week after Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Ms Hebert’s 19-year-old son, Joe Hebert, used a credit card in her name to purchase exclusive trainers for his company, West Coast Streetwear, which resales clothing items.

Bloomberg reported that Mr Hebert used specialist computer programmes to buy limited edition trainers from brands such as Nike and Adidas as soon as they became available.

He bought the trainers online from retailers such as Foot Locker, spending around $132,000 (£94,643) on the purchases, the report said.

The company then sold the trainers shortly after purchase at a higher price, making around $20,000 (£14,323) in profit on the exclusive footwear, according to Bloomberg.

His company was reportedly going strong despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while West Coast Streetwear’s Instagram account regularly featured images of piles of new trainers.

The 19-year-old told Bloomberg last week that he never received inside information on Nike products from his mother, claiming that she was “so high up at Nike as to be removed from what he does”.

Nike confirmed that Ms Hebert disclosed all relevant information about her son’s business in 2018 when he started the company.

The company added to Bloomberg: “There was no violation of company policy, privileged information or conflicts of interest, nor is there any commercial affiliation between WCS LLC and Nike.”

Ms Hebert started in sales at Nike and worked her way up to lead the company’s Asia Pacific and Latin America division, before becoming head of the North America division in June 2020.