Under Armour has appointed Patrik Frisk as its president and chief operating officer, starting this week, as part of a broader executive reshuffle to streamline the group's management, aimed at optimizing its product assortment and at reinforcing its sales and marketing strategies.
Thus, Frisk is making a comeback to the sporting goods market. The Swedish manager was most recently the chief executive of the Aldo Group, a big international chain of footwear and apparel stores based in Montreal, where he conducted many strategic changes since he joined it in 2014. Prior to that, he spent about ten years with VF Corp., the owner of The North Face (TNF), Vans and Timberland.
Frisk's function at Under Armour places him in charge of the company's sales, marketing and distribution strategy, plus the execution of its long-term growth plan. It will apparently enable Kevin Plank, the group's founder and chief executive, to step away from some aspects of the operational management and focus more on strategic development instead.
Under Armour has been under some pressure to continue expanding its apparel business amid shifts in consumer behavior. Frisk's background may be most useful to support Under Armour's expansion from performance apparel into the more lifestyle-oriented sportswear market, and to build on its move into the footwear market.
Frisk started by running his own retail business in Sweden and then joined Peak Performance and W.L. Gore & Associates. Frisk was previously vice president and general manager of TNF, then he supervised the VF group's outdoor and action sports brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), heading up the operations of TNF, Vans, Jansport and Reef in the region. He later became president of Timberland and his latest assignment at VF was the supervision of TNF, Timberland, Jansport, Lucy and Smartwool in the Americas. Frisk left Aldo in March and two months later he was appointed to the board of Gildan, a Canadian company that makes Under Armour socks, among other products, and sells them in the U.S. market.
Frisk will be supervising executives such as Charlie Maurath, the chief revenue officer of Under Armour who is in charge of international sales, and Andy Donkin, chief marketing officer. The same applies for Kevin Eskridge, chief product officer, and Colin Browne, chief supply chain officer, along with Kevin Haley, president of strategy.
The Baltimore Sun has worked out that the number of people who directly report to Plank has been reduced from ten to six with the latest reshuffle The positions of two of the managers reporting to Frisk have been changed. Browne, who joined Under Armour last year, was previously president of global sourcing. He had joined the company from VF Corp, where he was vice president and managing director of the supply chain. Other former employers include Li & Fung, Pentland Brands, Reebok and Bally. Eskridge has been with Under Armour since 2009, entrusted with such assignments as the launch of Under Armour in China as managing director, and the supervision of the brand's outdoor category. He most recently served as senior vice president in charge of global merchandising.
Separately, Under Armour announced that Paul Fipps has been appointed chief technology officer, in charge of all aspects of engineering that support the group's online and mobile applications, along with information technology and real estate functions. He will also lead under Armour's Connected Fitness business, meaning that Michael Lee, the group's chief digital officer and head of Connected Fitness, will report to Fipps. This is an internal change, since Fipps joined Under Armour in 2014 and was most recently its chief information officer and executive vice president of global operations. Fipps and Frisk are reporting directly to Plank.
