Lululemon has hired Simon Atkins, who formerly led basketball at Adidas, as SVP of footwear and Phil Dickinson, a Nike veteran, as SVP, global creative director. Both report to Sun Choe, chief product officer. Both are newly created positions.
Atkins, who joined Lululemon on April 4, has spent more than 25 years in senior-level brand, marketing, communications, and general management roles at Adidas. His most recent role was SVP and GM of its Global Basketball and U.S. Sports business, where he led the global businesses of basketball, American football, baseball, and hockey.
At Lululemon, Atkins is tasked with the development and execution of its new global footwear strategy and business, overseeing innovation, development, merchandising, and partnering with design, supply chain and brand. The hire comes after Lululemon launched its first footwear line.
Dickinson was at Nike for 15 years, leading its global football and the wider sportswear categories. His last position at the company as VP creative director for Umbro from September 2011 to December 2012. Dickinson went on to found Some Ideas, a creative agency in London. Most recently, he was global creative director for SuperDry, a U.K.-based apparel company, where he had oversight of product design and driving the brand’s creative direction.
At Lululemon, Dickinson is charged with shaping the brand’s global creative strategy and roadmap for product design. He is expected to build upon the work of Lululemon’s design team. Dickinson starts July 18.
Choe stated, “As we continue to build upon our strength in bringing product innovation and technical credibility to our guests in head-to-toe solutions, we’re excited to bolster our product leadership team with the appointments of Simon Atkins and Phil Dickinson. Both leaders bring a deep understanding of guest needs and a global mindset that will enable the brand to accelerate and scale our growth around the world.”
Photo courtesy Lululemon
