Peter Mahrer, the former Adidas and Puma executive who headed up the European operations of Under Armour in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the last years, has relinquished this job from the start of 2011. The EMEA unit is to be supervised from Baltimore, with leading functions for the European market split between two senior directors, Blair Tripodi and Shaun Corrigan, who are based at its office in Amsterdam.
Tripodi, who had been in charge of European marketing, is the senior director in charge of product, sales and marketing. He is a Canadian citizen who previously worked at Nike, then at the American and later the European head office of Under Armour. Corrigan, who previously handled electronic sales, is the other senior director, in charge of operations and electronic sales.
Tripodi and Corrigan started to steer Under Armour's European business in September, when Mahrer moved to Baltimore to assist the brand in its international development strategy. Under Mahrer's leadership in the last three and a half years, the brand's European sales have nearly tripled and it is on track to reach break-even in Europe, five years after its entry in the market.
The European business will be supervised by Mark Dowley, who will start in February as executive vice president in charge of Under Armour's international business, a new position based in Baltimore. Beyond Europe, Dowley will lead the company's expansion into other markets, which Under Armour has described as a huge strategic opportunity. He was previously chief executive of William Morris Endeavor Marketing, and had leading positions in several other companies focusing on marketing and entertainment. Along with the international business, Dowley will supervise brand marketing, sports marketing, consumer insights and strategy.
Separately, a veteran of Under Armour, Kip Fulks, has seen his tasks expanded to executive vice president for product. He has been with the company since its inception, leading its sourcing and then becoming senior vice president for outdoor and innovation. Both Dowley and Fulks will report to Kevin Plank, the founder and chief executive of Under Armour.
Mahrer resigned from his job in Europe as he no longer wanted to handle operations. Other highlights in his buoyant career in the sports business so far include leadership of the football unit at Adidas and international sales at Puma.
Another executive who had been spearheading Under Armour's growth in Europe, Tony O'Neill, formerly in charge of European sales, has moved to the brand's head office in Baltimore to take care of mall-based accounts in the U.S., focusing on apparel.
