NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 04:31 ET
- Chip Wilson, Lululemon’s founder, has nominated three independent directors for election at the company’s 2026 annual meeting.
- The move comes weeks after Lululemon announced CEO Calvin McDonald will depart in January, with two executives serving as interim co-CEOs.
- Lululemon shares are down about 45% this year as competition intensifies and activist pressure builds.
Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson has launched a proxy fight to change the company’s board, nominating three independent directors ahead of the retailer’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting. (Reuters)
The timing raises the stakes for Lululemon’s leadership transition, with the board searching for a permanent chief executive after announcing the planned exit of CEO Calvin McDonald in January.
It also lands as investors weigh whether Lululemon can regain momentum with younger, higher-spending shoppers after a sharp stock slide and growing competition in premium athletic wear.
Wilson nominated former On Running co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN chief marketing officer Laura Gentile and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg, according to his statement and Reuters.
A proxy fight is a campaign to win shareholder votes for board seats, typically by soliciting support through proxy ballots ahead of an annual meeting.
Lululemon said it would evaluate Wilson’s nominees “in due course” under its governance process and reiterated that shareholders are not required to take any action at this time. (Lululemon)
In a statement, the company said it had asked Wilson for the names of his nominees earlier in an effort to avoid what it called a “costly and distracting” proxy fight, but he declined to provide them until the notice was submitted.
Wilson, one of the company’s largest independent shareholders, has criticized the board’s oversight and succession planning after McDonald’s departure was announced without a clear successor, according to Reuters.
The company has named Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank and Chief Commercial Officer André Maestrini as interim co-CEOs while it conducts a broader search for a permanent chief executive, Reuters said.
The board shake-up push comes alongside pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which disclosed a roughly $1 billion stake earlier this month and has been involved in discussions around CEO candidates, Reuters has reported. (Reuters)
A person familiar with Wilson’s thinking told Reuters he was not working with any other investor, and that he would not back a CEO selected before any board changes.
Lululemon shares closed up about 2% on Monday, but are down roughly 45% this year, Reuters said, as the company fights to regain traction against fast-growing rivals including Alo Yoga and Vuori.
“Adding three new board members seems like something that Lululemon would be willing to do,” Morningstar analyst David Swartz said, according to Reuters.
