With lululemon trading near multi-year lows and its CEO chair still empty, founder Chip Wilson is pressing shareholders directly — using a new campaign website to build support for three board nominees and a full governance overhaul.
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has launched a dedicated campaign website as his push for board-level governance change at the Vancouver-based athletic apparel group enters a more public phase. The site, www.CreativityFirstlulu.com, frames Wilson’s case for a strategic reset and introduces the three independent director nominees he wants elected at lululemon’s 2026 annual shareholders’ meeting.
The move marks a further escalation in a months-long dispute that began when Wilson nominated his three candidates — Marc Maurer, Laura Gentile and Eric Hirshberg — in December 2025. As SGI Europe reported last week, Wilson had already issued a shareholder letter on February 27 setting a deadline of March 13 for a credible board response, warning that inaction would further erode shareholder value. The website is his next move: a public-facing platform summarizing his argument that lululemon requires board members with stronger creative and brand credentials, particularly as the company prepares to appoint a new permanent chief executive officer (CEO). His predecessor, Calvin McDonald, stepped down in December 2025.
Wilson and the group of entities associated with his campaign collectively hold beneficial ownership of approximately 9.9 million lululemon shares — including special voting stock paired with exchangeable Canadian shares — making him one of the company’s largest shareholders. He plans to file a definitive proxy statement and a so-called GOLD universal proxy card with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of the annual meeting.
A governance saga built on financial pain
The campaign is playing out against a bruising financial backdrop. lululemon’s stock has shed nearly half its value over the past five years, erasing roughly $20 billion in shareholder wealth. Wilson has argued that a board lacking brand-building expertise is poorly positioned to protect the creative foundations — community, quality, direct-to-consumer positioning — that underpin the company’s premium valuation.
The campaign website explicitly states that lululemon “has lost its way,” and calls for immediate change. Among Wilson’s structural proposals is full board declassification: shifting from the current staggered structure, under which directors serve overlapping multi-year terms, to annual elections for all seats — a move that would give shareholders more consistent accountability over individual board members.
Wilson also raised concerns about the independence of board processes, noting that David Mussafer, Chair of the Corporate Responsibility, Sustainability, and Governance Committee and a candidate for re-election, has been overseeing the assessment of new director nominees — a situation Wilson argues represents a conflict of interest.
Nominees positioned as creative reinforcement
The three candidates Wilson is backing are presented as bringing brand, creative and marketing capabilities he says the current board lacks. Wilson has drawn a parallel with Amer Sports — the group behind Arc’teryx and Wilson Tennis — where a dedicated Brand Product Committee has been credited with contributing to strong post-IPO performance.
lululemon has responded to previous Wilson statements but has not publicly endorsed his nominees or his governance proposals. The company is also facing pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has built a stake of more than $1 billion in the retailer. The convergence of two major activist positions ahead of the annual meeting — and with the CEO role still vacant — puts the board under significant institutional pressure to demonstrate strategic direction.
The proxy contest will be decided at lululemon’s 2026 annual meeting. Definitive materials are expected to be filed with the SEC and made available at no charge via the SEC’s website.
