Founder Chip Wilson Seeks Leadership Shake-Up on Lululemon Board

Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson announced this week his launch of a proxy fight at the Canadian clothing company he established more than 25 years ago as he seeks changes in strategy at its helm.

Wilson announced in a Dec. 29 statement that he has put forward three director candidates for Lululemon’s board to help revamp the company as it looks to the future. He has nominated former On Running co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN chief marketing officer Laura Gentile, and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

The move comes a little more than two weeks after Lululemon announced the upcoming exit of its CEO, Calvin McDonald. Lululemon said on Dec. 11 that McDonald would step down from his role effective Jan. 31 after seven years in the top spot. He is set to serve as a senior adviser through March 31 of next year.

The board has appointed chief financial officer Meghan Frank and chief commercial officer André Maestrini as interim co-CEOs as it searches for a permanent replacement.

Wilson said the apparel company he founded in 1998 is “in need of change” and characterized the recent announcement about the CEO transition as the “third total failure” of the board because it made the announcement without a clear successor.

“Shareholders have no faith that this Board can select and support the next CEO without input from a Board with stronger product experience,” said Wilson, who remains a large Lululemon shareholder.

“The Board must be refreshed so that creative, brand-first experience is empowered,” he added. “This is the only way to restore shareholder confidence and set lululemon back on the path to growth, product innovation and premium quality.”

Lululemon responded to Wilson’s announcement with a statement of its own. It said it has a “highly engaged and experienced” board that has launched a “comprehensive search” for the company’s next CEO.

The company said even though Wilson hasn’t been involved with the company for a decade, the board has actively communicated with him over the years to try to understand his perspective, especially concerning the board’s future direction.

“In our most recent discussions, Mr. Wilson indicated his intent to nominate directors,” the board said in its Dec. 29 statement. “In the interest of avoiding a costly and distracting proxy fight, the Board requested from Mr. Wilson the names of his director nominees to evaluate their qualifications and backgrounds, but Mr. Wilson declined to engage further.”

The board said it would review his nominees in a timely manner and would provide a formal recommendation concerning his nominations in the company’s definitive proxy statement prior to the company’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting.

Shareholders and Outlook

Another major shareholder has also weighed in on the company’s direction. Investor Elliott Management, having acquired a stake exceeding US$1 billion in Lululemon, is advocating for the struggling retailer to appoint former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen as its next CEO.

Elliott Management has been working with Nielsen, a former chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Ralph Lauren, for the past few months to support her candidacy, according to media reports.

Nielsen spent nine years with the fashion brand before leaving earlier this year. She previously held the position of executive vice-president and chief financial officer at Coach.

Elliott Management has said Lululemon’s recent struggles are due to heightened competition, which has led the company to provide discounts on a greater number of its products, but it also noted the retailer’s growing shift toward initiatives beyond its primary business. This includes recent collaborations with the NFL and Disney, which have led to the release of clothing lines that display football team logos and Mickey Mouse, alongside an expansion in the sales of beauty and skin care products.

Lululemon said revenue fell during the third quarter in its U.S. and Canadian businesses by 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively, but saw a 46 percent rise in its revenue from China.

Lululemon updated its guidance with an estimated reduction in gross profit for 2025 while reporting its second-quarter results in September. It said the move reflected the impact of tariffs and the removal of the de minimis exemption, a U.S. customs rule that allowed packages worth US$800 or less to ship south of the border without duties.

Lululemon’s first standalone store opened in Vancouver in November of 2000. Wilson remained CEO until 2005, when he sold 48 percent of his company to Advent International. He remained on the board until 2015.

Lululemon made its initial public offering in July of 2007, raising $327.6 million by selling 18.2 million shares on the American Nasdaq. Advent eventually sold its shares in Lululemon but still has a board seat.

Lululemon’s ownership structure is predominantly influenced by major institutional investors like the Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation, but Wilson remains its largest individual shareholder.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.