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Under Armour Founder Kevin Plank to Step Down as C.E.O. Under Armour Founder Kevin Plank to Step Down as C.E.O.
(about 1 hour later)
Under Armour’s founder and chief executive, Kevin Plank, is stepping down after more than 20 years at the helm of the athletic gear brand. Under Armour’s founder and chief executive, Kevin Plank, is stepping down after more than 20 years at the helm of the athletic gear brand he started from his grandmother’s basement while in college.
Patrik Frisk, the company’s president and chief operating officer, will become the chief executive on Jan. 1, the company said in a statement. He will continue serving as president.Patrik Frisk, the company’s president and chief operating officer, will become the chief executive on Jan. 1, the company said in a statement. He will continue serving as president.
Mr. Plank, 47, described Mr. Frisk, 56, as “the right person” to serve as the company’s next C.E.O. Mr. Plank, 47, described Mr. Frisk, 56, as “the right person” to serve as the company’s next C.E.O. Mr. Frisk, a retail industry veteran who previously led the footwear company the Aldo Group, joined Under Armour in 2017.
“As my partner during the most transformative chapter in our history, he has been exceptional in his ability to translate our brand’s vision into world-class execution by focusing on our long-term strategy and re-engineering our ecosystem through a strategic, operational and cultural transformation,” Mr. Plank said in a statement.“As my partner during the most transformative chapter in our history, he has been exceptional in his ability to translate our brand’s vision into world-class execution by focusing on our long-term strategy and re-engineering our ecosystem through a strategic, operational and cultural transformation,” Mr. Plank said in a statement.
Mr. Plank has been the chief executive since starting the retailer in 1996 in his grandmother’s basement. He will become the executive chairman and brand chief. Mr. Plank has been the chief executive since starting the retailer in 1996. He will become the company’s executive chairman and brand chief.
This is a developing story. It will be updated. The company, which had $5 billion in annual sales in 2018, has struggled in recent years. The stock is down about 30 percent in the past three years. Mr. Frisk will be charged with turning Under Armour around.
Last year, the company cut around 400 jobs to streamline a business suffering from slowing growth.
Under Armour is a competitor of the much larger sports brand Nike and has had major deals with Major League Baseball and athletes like basketball star Stephen Curry, N.F.L. quarterback Cam Newton and the ballerina Misty Copeland.
Mr. Plank has sought to distance himself from the Trump administration. In 2017, he was one of several C.E.O.s who resigned from a presidential business council over President Trump’s response to a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left a woman dead.
Mr. Plank had come under fire earlier that year after praising Mr. Trump’s business approach as “a real asset.” Under Armour’s celebrity endorsers, including Mr. Curry and the movie star Dwayne Johnson, were quick to rebuke Mr. Plank, and he placated them by taking out a full-page newspaper ad that indicated his comments “did not accurately reflect my intent.”
Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company had a culture of inappropriate behavior toward women, including visits to strip clubs often attended by Mr. Plank that were charged to corporate cards. In response to the report, Mr. Plank said: “We can and will do better.”