Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin resigns

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Feb 6, 2018

Lululemon Athletica Inc. announced on Monday that its chief executive officer Laurent Potdevin has resigned from the company effective immediately, while citing conduct standards.

“Lululemon expects all employees to exemplify the highest levels of integrity and respect for one another, and Mr. Potdevin fell short of these standards of conduct,” the Vancouver-based company said in a news statement.
 
The company did not further elaborate or provide any other details on how the now former CEO fell short of company standards.

Potdevin, formerly president of footwear brand TOM shoes, became CEO of Lululemon in January 2014, taking over from Christine Day.
 
"While this was a difficult and considered decision, the Board thanks Laurent for his work in strengthening the company and positioning it for the future," said Glenn Murphy, Executive Chairman of the Board. "Culture is at the core of Lululemon, and it is the responsibility of leaders to set the right tone in our organization. Protecting the organization's culture is one of the Board's most important duties."
 
In a separate exchange filing, Lululemon agreed to pay Potdevin a total of $5 million in severance in exchange for his agreeing to certain terms.
 
In interim, Murphy will take on the expanded role of executive chairman, with three senior executives who will equally take on expanded duties and report to him.
 
Celeste Burgoyne, Executive Vice President, Americas, will oversee all channel and brand-facing aspects of the global business, including stores and e-commerce, as well as brand marketing, while Stuart Haselden, Chief Operating Officer, will have responsibility for all operations related to finance, supply chain, people, and technology, and Sun Choe, Senior Vice President of Merchandising, will guide all aspects of product development, design, innovation, and merchandising.
 
“The Board is entirely confident that Celeste, Stuart and Sun - three leaders deeply tied to the recent momentum in the business - can continue to execute on lululemon's growth strategy and drive global performance,” Murphy added.
 
The company also reaffirmed its updated guidance for the fourth quarter of 2017 for revenue of $905 million to $915 million.
 
The Board of Directors has immediately begun a search process for a new CEO.