Lululemon Founder Nominates Three New Board Candidates

Chip Wilson, one of Lululemon’s largest shareholders, nominated three director candidates for election at the 2026 annual meeting: former On Holding co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN chief marketing officer Laura Gentile and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

Lululemon said earlier this month that Calvin McDonald will step down as CEO at the end of January, and that the company is searching for his successor. Meanwhile, activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a stake of more than $1 billion in the company and has reportedly been working with retail executive Jane Nielsen as a potential replacement.

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

The Vancouver-based company’s growth has slowed in recent quarters and that trend is expected to continue, according to analyst estimates. Sales growth is near the lowest level since the company went public in 2007 as Lululemon faces fierce competition from upstarts including Alo Yoga and Vuori, as well as knockoffs from lower-priced retailers.

Lululemon is unlikely to reach its goal to double sales to $12.5 billion in 2026 even with a lead over its activewear peers, according to a note from Poonam Goyal, senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

The company’s shares rose 1.3 percent at 9:43 a.m. in New York trading. Lululemon stock has dropped 45 percent over the last year, compared with an 18 percent increase for the S&P 500 index.

By Dina Katgara

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