Lululemon founder Chip Wilson launches proxy fight for board shakeup

Dec 29 (Reuters) – Lululemon Athletica’s founder Chip Wilson said on Monday he had launched a proxy fight by nominating three independent directors to the company’s board, days after the apparel maker announced the exit of CEO Calvin McDonald.

Lululemon shares have shed nearly half their value this year as the company struggles to find its footing with younger and affluent shoppers, while battling stiff competition from fast-growing newer rivals such as Alo Yoga and Vuori, as well as pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.

Wilson has nominated three director candidates to Lululemon’s board, including former On Running co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN Chief Marketing Officer Laura Gentile and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

“The recent CEO change announcement was the third total failure of board oversight, with no clear succession plan in place. Shareholders have no faith that this board can select and support the next CEO without input from a board with stronger product experience,” Wilson said in a statement.

Lululemon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Following McDonald’s exit, Vancouver-based Lululemon named CFO Meghan Frank and Chief Commercial Officer André Maestrini as co-interim CEOs, and said that it was in the process of finding a full-time replacement.

Reuters had reported that Elliott Management, which disclosed a $1 billion stake in the company earlier this month, had been working closely for months with former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen for a potential CEO role.

Wilson had spoken to Nielsen, but believed Lululemon shareholders would not trust any CEO who is picked by the current board, and thus wanted to change the board first, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day.

“Adding three new board members seems like something that Lululemon would be willing to do. It might keep Wilson from constantly attacking the board, at least. The nominees appear to be fine, although only one of the three (Maurer) has direct experience in Lululemon’s industry,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz said.

Wilson likely did not ask for a board seat for himself as he owns a significant stake in Lululemon’s competitor Amer Sports, Swartz added.

WILSON’S HISTORY WITH LULULEMON

Wilson is one of the biggest independent shareholders of Lululemon, with a 4.27% stake as of December 2025, according to LSEG data.

The yogawear maker’s founder had previously called for an urgent search for a CEO to replace McDonald, led by new, independent directors with a deep knowledge of the company to restore a “product-first” mindset at the company.

This is not the first time Wilson has pushed for changes at Lululemon’s board.

After founding the apparel company in 1998, Wilson withdrew from daily operations in 2012 and resigned as chairman a year later following a recall of see-through yoga pants that led to the departures of top executives amid a public-relations storm.

He also quit the director post in 2015 after clashing with the board over strategy. However, a proxy fight was averted after Wilson agreed to sell about half of his 27% stake to private-equity firm Advent International for $845 million in return for two additional director positions.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum, Sanskriti Shekhar and Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Anil D’Silva)