Lululemon’s founder, Chip Wilson, is pushing to remove private equity firm Advent from the activewear retailer’s board as part of an ongoing proxy fight, according to a report from Semafor.
Wilson, who remains one of Lululemon’s largest independent shareholders with a 4.3 percent stake, in late December launched a proxy fight by nominating three independent directors to the company’s board, including Marc Maurer, the former co-CEO of On Holding; Laura Gentile, the former chief marketing officer of ESPN, and Eric Hirshberg, the former CEO of Activision.
Wilson also submitted a non-binding proposal that calls for the Board to immediately declassify so that all directors are elected annually by shareholders.
Wilson’s move came after Lululemon announced on December 11 that CEO Calvin McDonald would step down at the end of January 2026 and initiated a search for a new CEO.
Sources told Semafor that Wilson does not want a seat on the board; he won’t consider any settlement with Lululemon unless two legacy directors with ties to Advent resign. The two board members are Advent Managing Partner David Mussafer, Lululemon’s lead independent director, and Lululemon Chair Marti Morfitt.
Advent has a long-standing relationship with Lululemon, helping the retailer go public in 2007.
After founding the apparel company in 1998, Wilson withdrew from daily operations in 2012 and later resigned as chairman in late 2013 following a recall of see-through yoga pants that led to departures of top executives amid a public-relations storm.
Wilson also resigned as the company’s director in 2015 after clashing with the board over strategy. However, a proxy fight was averted after Wilson agreed to sell about half of his 27 percent stake to Advent for $845 million in return for two additional director positions.
Lululemon also faces activist pressure from Elliott Management, which took a $1 billion stake in the company earlier in December and has been working closely with former Ralph Lauren executive Jane Nielsen for a potential CEO role.
Wilson, Lululemon and Advent have not responded to the Semafor report.
Image courtesy Lululemon
