Dive Brief:
- Almost a year into CEO Stephanie Linnartz’s tenure, Under Armour is continuing its leadership revamp, with a new chief product officer and president of the Americas, the retailer announced Friday.
- Yassine Saidi, who has nearly 20 years of experience at brands including Adidas and Puma, will join the retailer as chief product officer on Jan. 29. Former Chief Product Officer Lisa Collier left the company in August amid a slew of leadership changes.
- Kara Trent, currently managing director of EMEA at Under Armour, will assume leadership of the Americas from David Baxter, who will leave Under Armour on Feb. 16. Both Trent and Saidi will report directly to Linnartz.
Dive Insight:
Under Armour has steadily replaced much of its top leadership since Linnartz took over as CEO in February last year. That includes Chief Operating Officer Colin Browne, who stepped in as interim CEO during the gap left by Patrik Frisk, but left the company this fall.
Leadership of the Americas has been a particularly difficult role for Under Armour to nail, with a series of executives attempting the role in the past few years. Baxter, who is out as of next month, spent less than a year and a half in the role. His predecessor, Stephanie Pugliese, left after about three years.
In Trent, the retailer is turning to an eight-year veteran who drove double-digit revenue growth during her time leading the EMEA region, according to the retailer. Under Armour also credits her with building a “performance-based culture focused on accountability, consistency, and execution,” and improving the brand’s presence overseas through effective product segmentation and marketing strategies.
In Under Armour’s most recent quarter, revenue in North America fell 2% to $991 million. The region is by far the largest for Under Armour, accounting for 63% of its revenue in the second quarter. For Under Armour’s fiscal year 2023, which ended in March 2022, revenue in North America was down 0.6% year over year.
The addition of Saidi on the product side speaks to the continued evolution of Under Armour’s product strategy, which has shifted greatly over the past year or so to emphasize athleisure offerings over the strictly performance-based angle it’s taken in the past. The retailer tapped John Varvatos as its chief design officer in September and has brought in new designers to improve offerings in footwear, women’s and sportstyle.
Saidi joins from Agency Y, a design and tech consultancy he founded in 2018, but the executive spent about 17 years at sportswear rivals Adidas and Puma. Saidi thanked Linnartz “for your trust” in a LinkedIn post and said in a statement that there is “massive opportunity” to grow Under Armour’s business off of the field.
“In the past year, we have added incredible executive talent to Under Armour, and I am confident that Yassine and Kara's demonstrated track records of leadership and expertise will further strengthen our ability to build an even more powerful brand,” Linnartz said in a statement. “We will continue to advance our growth strategies, driving greater demand for the brand through groundbreaking innovation and design.”
