Patrik Frisk to Step
Down; Colin Browne Appointed Interim President and Chief Executive
Officer, Effective June 1,
2022
Board Initiates Comprehensive Search for
Permanent Successor
BALTIMORE, May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Under Armour,
Inc. ("the company") (NYSE: UA, UAA), today announced that
Patrik Frisk will step down as
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as a member of the
Board of Directors (board), effective June
1, 2022. The board has initiated a comprehensive
internal and external search process to identify a permanent
President and CEO. Until a successor is named, the board has
appointed Colin Browne, the
company's Chief Operating Officer (COO), as interim President and
CEO, effective June 1, 2022. To
support the transition, Frisk will remain with Under Armour as an
advisor through September 1,
2022.
"On behalf of the board, I want to thank Patrik for his valuable
contributions to Under Armour over the past five years," said
Kevin Plank, Under Armour Founder,
Executive Chairman and Brand Chief. "During his tenure, we made
significant strides in advancing enterprise-wide operational
excellence, and Patrik's steadfast leadership has been crucial to
strengthening our foundation and positioning the company for our
next growth phase. As we search for Patrik's permanent successor,
Colin's experience as a seasoned executive in our industry and
leading critical operational aspects of our business will serve
Under Armour well as interim CEO."
Plank continued, "Under Armour is evolving to meet the needs of
our athletes worldwide. As we transition, we are committed to
identifying additional opportunities to drive improved returns for
our shareholders and deliver for athletes, partners, and teammates.
There is a huge opportunity in front of us. I look forward to
working closely with the board during the search process to find
our next leader who will take us to new heights. In the meantime,
we are moving forward and will continue to connect with athletes in
exciting ways, offering them exactly what they need when they need
it."
Frisk, who joined Under Armour in 2017, helped architect its
long-term strategic plan that underscored its commitment to
athletic performance by reengineering its structure, systems, and
go-to-market process. Under his leadership, the company delivered
industry-leading products, deepened relationships with consumers
and customers, and advanced its purpose, vision, mission, and
values.
"It has been the greatest privilege of my career to serve Under
Armour athletes, customers, shareholders, and teammates. I am
extremely proud of what we've accomplished as a team," said Frisk.
"Together, we have done a tremendous amount of work to strengthen
this iconic brand while significantly solidifying its operations.
Colin has an intimate understanding of the Under Armour business
and our industry. I have every confidence that his stewardship will
allow for a seamless transition."
Browne said, "What unifies and drives Under Armour is our
purpose: to empower those who strive for more. This transition is
an opportunity to further our long-term goals. I am grateful for
Patrik's leadership and partnership. As we work to deliver
industry-leading innovation and premium experiences to athletes
globally, we remain focused on amplifying the strong foundation
that's been set over the past few years."
Since joining the company in 2016, Browne modernized Under
Armour's digital go-to-market strategy and direct-to-consumer model
and transformed its supply chain organization, leading to
significant margin improvement and operating efficiency. Browne has
held the role of COO since 2020 and oversees supply chain, global
planning, sustainability, information technology, enterprise data
management, commercial optimization, go-to-market strategy, and
distribution capabilities. Browne has been an integral part of the
company's successful transformation, and his leadership has been
critical to navigating global supply challenges caused by the
pandemic.
About Under Armour, Inc.
Under Armour, Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a leading inventor,
marketer and distributor of branded athletic performance apparel,
footwear, and accessories. Designed to empower human performance,
Under Armour's innovative products and experiences are engineered
to make athletes better. For further information, please visit
http://about.underarmour.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this press release
constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and
strategies, anticipated events or trends, and similar expressions
concerning matters that are not historical facts, such as
statements regarding our future financial condition or results of
operations, our prospects, and strategies for future growth, the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of
operations, the development and introduction of new products, and
the implementation of our marketing and branding strategies. In
many cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms
such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans,"
"anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "outlook,"
"potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release reflect our current views about future events and are
subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in
circumstances that may cause events or our actual activities or
results to differ significantly from those expressed in any
forward-looking statement. Although we believe that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee future events, results, actions,
activity levels, performance, or achievements. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. A number of important factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated by these
forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our industry and our business,
financial condition and results of operations, including recent
impacts on the global supply chain; failure of our suppliers
or manufacturers to produce or deliver our products in a timely or
cost-effective manner; labor or other disruptions at ports or
our suppliers or manufacturers; changes in general economic or
market conditions that could affect overall consumer spending or
our industry; increased competition causing us to lose market
share or reduce the prices of our products or to increase our
marketing efforts significantly; fluctuations in the costs of
raw materials and commodities we use in our products and our supply
chain; changes to the financial health of our customers; our
ability to successfully execute our long-term strategies; our
ability to effectively drive operational efficiency in our business
and successfully execute any restructuring plans and realize their
expected benefits; our ability to effectively develop and
launch new, innovative and updated products; our ability to
accurately forecast consumer shopping and engagement preferences
and consumer demand for our products and manage our inventory in
response to changing demands; loss of key customers, suppliers
or manufacturers; our ability to further expand our business
globally and to drive brand awareness and consumer acceptance of
our products in other countries; our ability to manage the
increasingly complex operations of our global business; the
impact of global events beyond our control, including military
conflict; our ability to successfully manage or realize expected
results from significant transactions and investments; our
ability to effectively market and maintain a positive brand
image; our ability to effectively meet the expectations of our
stakeholders with respect to environmental, social and governance
practices; the availability, integration and effective operation of
information systems and other technology, as well as any potential
interruption of such systems or technology; any disruptions,
delays or deficiencies in the design, implementation or application
of our global operating and financial reporting information
technology system; our ability to attract key talent and
retain the services of our senior management and other key
employees; our ability to access capital and financing
required to manage our business on terms acceptable to us; our
ability to accurately anticipate and respond to seasonal or
quarterly fluctuations in our operating results; risks related
to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; our ability to
comply with existing trade and other regulations, and the potential
impact of new trade, tariff and tax regulations on our
profitability; risks related to data security or privacy
breaches; and our potential exposure to litigation and other
proceedings. The forward-looking statements contained in this
press release reflect our views and assumptions only as of the date
of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the statement's date or to reflect unanticipated events.
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SOURCE Under Armour, Inc.