Under Armour names Patrik Frisk President and COO, makes executive changes

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jun 27, 2017

Under Armour announced on Tuesday the appointment of Patrik Frisk to President and Chief Operating Officer, effective July 10, and additional executive changes to align its organizational structure.

 
The sportswear company’s growth has slowed in recent months due to a lack of lifestyle footwear innovation. The Baltimore-based company continues to post sales increases, recently reporting a 6.6% increase in net sales to $1.12 billion, but the  increase is the slowest in almost eight years. In addition, Under Armour reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or 1 cent per share.
 
Two bright spots for the company in the quarter that ended on March 31, 2017 are the Asia Pacific business, which increased 13% in operating income, and the direct-to-consumer business, which increased 13%.

As President and COO, Frisk will have responsibility for the company’s go-to market strategy and the execution of its long-term growth plan, which includes its digital business and global branding. He will report to Chairman and CEO Kevin Plank, and five executives will report to Frisk, including Chief Revenue Officer Charlie Maurath; Kevin Eskridge, Chief Product Officer; Andy Donkin, Chief Marketing Officer; recent Chief Supply Chain Officer appointee Colin Browne; and Kevin Haley, the President of Strategy.
 
Prior to joining Under Armour, Frisk spent 10 years at VF Corporation as Coalition President of Outdoor Americas, President of Timberland, President of Outdoor and Action Sports in the EMEA region, and VP and GM of the North Face, and he most recently served as CEO of Aldo Group.
 
"Patrik's global experience in brand building, including a proven and disciplined record of driving growth, while enhancing profitability and efficiency, will be instrumental as we work to transform our business model to deliver long-term value for our consumers, customers and shareholders," said Plank. "The opportunity to leverage our strengths – innovative product, brand strength, premium sports marketing assets and unparalleled consumer connections – within an increasingly more digital ecosystem has never been greater."
 
In addition to Frisk’s appointment, Under Armour named Paul Fipps  Chief Technology Officer and Colin Browne Chief Supply Chain Officer, in an effort to leverage its digital business, support its move toward category management, and drive greater operational efficiency across the organization.
 
Fipps joined Under Armour in 2014 as SVP of Global Operations and most recently served as Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Operations. As CTO, he will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of engineering that support Under Armour’s web and mobile apps, oversee IT and real estate functions, and lead Under Armour’s Connected Fitness business with Chief Digital Officer and head of Connected Fitness Michael Lee.
 
Colin Browne joined Under Armour in 2016 as President of Global Sourcing, and like Frisk, worked at VF prior to joining the sportswear company. As Chief Supply Chain Officer, Browne will be responsible for all global operations related to product sourcing and logistics.
 
"Today's leadership appointments and the streamlining of our organizational structure are transformative steps focused on a sharper, consumer-led approach and go-to-market strategy through our category management lens," added Plank. "With the stated goals of accelerating our innovation agenda, optimizing our product assortment and creating a merchandising center of excellence, this underscores our work toward evolving from a great brand with good operations – to a great brand with great operations."