Lululemon settles dispute with founder by shaking up board

Published Wed, May 27, 2026 · 09:41 PM

LULULEMON Athletica has agreed to resolve a long-simmering dispute with founder Chip Wilson by overhauling its board with three new directors.

The company will name two of Wilson’s nominees to the board in Laura Gentile, a former ESPN executive, and Marc Maurer, the previous co-CEO of sneaker maker On. A third new director will be announced by Oct 1. 

The settlement stands to remove a significant distraction ahead of Heidi O’Neill’s arrival as CEO in September. Lululemon is struggling to stem a slowdown in sales due to rising competition and product mishaps such as see-through leggings. 

The shares rose as much as 3.9 per cent in premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock declined 39 per cent in the year to Tuesday’s close. 

Under the terms of the deal, Wilson agreed to a standstill clause lasting about 18 months that includes not disparaging the company.

“The board additions Lululemon announced today and strategic changes already made by the team reflect meaningful progress toward restoring the company’s product-first vision and unlocking tremendous value for shareholders,” Wilson said in a press release. 

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Wilson’s relationship with the company he founded had become increasingly contentious as financial results deteriorated and shares lost value.

In addition to taking out an ad in the Wall Street Journal in which he accused the company of “losing its soul”, he created a website to promote his choices for its board of directors, accusing Lululemon of “prioritising short-term goals at the expense of creativity and product innovation”.

Vancouver-based Lululemon has countered with claims that Wilson, 71, has “outdated perspectives” and “troubling conflicts of interest”. BLOOMBERG