Steven H. Eklund.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: Biography

Steve Eklund is a man who likes to set his sights high by climbing mountains--both personally and professionally. One of his favorite pastimes is mountain-climbing, and his job, building Nike Golf, an entity of the big-brand sports company, is itself a lofty, yet achievable goal--much like getting to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro!

Name: Steven H. Eklund (Steve)

Title: Nike Golf CFO

Company: Nike, Inc.

Born: June 18, 1947, Minnesota

Spouse: Teresa A. Delaney, 20 years

Children: Michael, 12

Education: BA, Minnesota State University--Moorhead, 1969; MBA, University of Minnesota, 1973; CPA and CMA professional certifications.

Career Summary: 1969-80, General Mills Inc., Minneapolis; 1980-82, Eddie Bauer, Seattle, Manager of Operations Analysis; 1982-84, Director of Accounting; 1984-93, Kistler-Morse Corp., Seattle, Senior VP, CFO; 1993-96, Hanna Andersson Corp., Portland, VP and CFO; 199698, Nike, Inc., Portland, Nike Global Apparel Director of Finance; 1998-2002, Nike ACG COO/CFO; 2002-present, Nike Golf CFO.

FEI Chapter: Portland, Oregon

Leisure: Golf, hiking/climbing, fly-fishing and sailing

Time Management: "It is a constant battle to stay focused on the 'important' opportunities versus the 'urgent' tasks. A few ideas that work: Utilize task management tools to manage key milestones and follow-up dates; leverage calendar management tools to create blocks of time for key project work weekly; prioritize and reserve weekly one-on-one meetings with individual staff to ensure quality coaching and communication. My email inbox is usually bursting, and I have not yet found a good way to manage this other than to scan for critical emails whenever I can, and use travel time to empty the inbox."

Stress Management: "Nike has terrific sports facilities on campus, and I try to work out at least four times per week, usually over lunchtime. This is a great way to recharge; my best ideas usually come during my noon runs. Also key is maintaining a good work/family balance. I am generally able to keep weekends for family time, although the tradeoff is 12-14 hour workdays during the week."

I would like to spend 1 hour with: "Winston Churchill. I am a big World War II history fan, and Churchill...