Under Armour’s C.E.O. marks his first election as a U.S. citizen with a voting drive.
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Version 0 of 1. This year’s presidential election will be the first for Patrik Frisk as a U.S. citizen, and the Swedish-born chief executive of Under Armour is marking it with a major get-out-the-vote initiative by the sports apparel business. Under Armour announced a number of initiatives on Thursday that include encouraging employees and customers to vote by limiting internal meetings and deadlines on Election Day, putting voter registration information on product receipts and adding features about voting to the company’s running app. Until recently, the notion of “orchestrating something like this for one of my brands” would have seemed odd, Mr. Frisk told the DealBook newsletter. “I probably would have said, ‘Are you crazy? Why would I do that?’” While some athletes have faced a backlash for speaking up about politics, Mr. Frisk said he’s not worried about the impact on Under Armour. “We might be judged by it, but so be it. I don’t mind,” he said. “We think it’s partly our role as a brand.” Under Armour’s announcement comes as other companies have taken similar moves, with more than 700 firms, including Bank of America, Macy’s and Visa, joining Time to Vote, an initiative that promotes making it easier for workers to vote by giving them time off or providing other assistance. “I just think voting should be easier for everyone in the U.S.,” Mr. Frisk said. In his native Sweden, turnout for 2018 parliamentary elections was nearly 90 percent. “It’s very simple,” he explained about voting there. “I get my ballot mailed to me, and you can choose to mail it in or go vote with it.” |