Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Serena Williams has been with the same clothing company since she first began climbing the ranks and says her connection with it has only grown.

Sitting down for an on-stage interview at the annual Innovation Conference alongside Nike CEO Mark Parker, Williams even joked that she planned to take his job once she retires. “I’m going to be CEO,” she said.

The current CEO, undaunted, praised Williams’s involvement with the company, saying, “has a million ideas and very strong opinions of what she likes and doesn’t like.”

The two talked about the extent of their collaboration on Williams’s on-court clothing, and the relationship they have developed through it.

“It does get very personal in terms of what the athletes are into,” he added. “Good design is going deep… pulling bits of information that can inform the design.”

He also revealed that Williams told him she had been taking pre-med courses, in addition to her other pursuits like a fashion line.

“Tennis is a side job at this point,” she joked, again.

Williams has a contract with Nike that is said to be $8 million a year. But she said she also identified with its image and was proud to be associated with it.

“I’m with this company,” she said, describing the well-known clothing mark as “inspiring.”

“When you’re on top, you just want to stay there. That’s something we have in common.”

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.