Today, he hosts polo events with Prince William and runs a $2.7 billion empire—but J. Michael Prince’s first taste of leadership was a complete accident. Not only that, he was almost passed over entirely.
When the CFO role opened up at Converse in 2005—then freshly acquired by Nike—Prince had been on the payroll for barely half a year. The company made it plain he wasn’t in the running; he was simply there to keep the seat warm while they headhunted. But instead of feeling rejected, the now-CEO of U.S. Polo Assn. treated it as a deadline to prove them wrong.
