Lululemon’s Boardroom Fight With Founder Chip Wilson Gets Public—and Personal

Canadian athleisure giant Lululemon is locked in a public battle with its founder, Chip Wilson, over who should fill seats On its board. The company is currently led by two interim co-CEOs until Heidi O’Neill, a former Nike executive, takes over in September. Wilson, who founded Lululemon in 1998 and stepped down in 2015 after years of controversy, remains its largest shareholder and retains significant voting power at the nearly $14 billion company. He is now pushing to elect board candidates from companies including ESPN, Activision and sneaker brand On, while Lululemon’s current leadership is backing nominees from Levi Strauss, Unilever and Gap.

The dispute has escalated in recent days. In an April 29 letter, Wilson said the current board and its nominees “lack the skills to run a company whose core values are derived from innovation and culture.”

Lululemon responded on May 18, saying Wilson’s “actions have been damaging to the brand” and accusing him of holding “outdated perspectives.” Electing his nominees, the company added, would “endorse his misguided perspectives.”

The clash comes as Lululemon’s business has weakened, particularly in the U.S., where competitors like ALO Yoga and Vuori have gained ground. Revenue in North America fell 4 percent in its latest fiscal quarter ended January, while overall profit dropped 8 percent. The company’s stock has lost roughly two-thirds of its value since early 2025.

Leadership changes have added to the uncertainty. CEO Calvin McDonald stepped down in December 2025 after more than seven years, with chief financial officer Meghan Frank and chief commercial officer André Maestrini serving as interim co-CEOs. In April, Lululemon named Heidi O’Neill, formerly Nike’s president of consumer, product and brand, as its next CEO, effective Sept. 8.

Wilson criticized that decision, writing on LinkedIn that the company’s strategy has become “disconnected from Lululemon” and accusing the board of trying to replicate “mass-market, lower quality athletic retailers.”

Tensions between Wilson and the company date back years. He served as CEO until 2005, later remaining involved as chairman before leaving the board in 2015. He now owns about 8.6 percent of the company.

Wilson has long drawn scrutiny for controversial remarks about the brand and its customers. He once said he chose the name Lululemon because Japanese people had difficulty pronouncing the letter “L,” calling it “funny to watch them try.” He also said the company’s leggings “don’t work for some women’s bodies.”

His criticism of Lululemon intensified after his departure. In a 2016 open letter, he said the company had “lost its way” and was falling behind competitors in a market it helped create. In 2024, he argued the company’s diversity efforts were making it resemble “the Gap, everything to everybody,” and last year said the brand was losing its “cool.”

“Chip Wilson is still tied to the company’s original identity in people’s minds,” Kaveh Vahdat, founder of marketing agency RiseOpp, told Observer. “When the brand hits a rough patch, the founder becomes relevant again because people associate him with a time when the company felt sharper and more culturally defined.”

In March, Wilson launched a campaign website to promote his slate of board candidates, saying the effort is aimed at “safeguarding the company’s future” and ensuring its “best years remain ahead” with the right strategic changes.

His nominees include former On co-CEO Marc Maurer, former ESPN chief marketing officer Laura Gentile, and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

Lululemon, meanwhile, is backing three current directors: former Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh, former Unilever executive Esi Eggleston Bracey, and former Gap CFO Teri List. Other board members include executives from firms such as River Rock Partners, Colgate-Palmolive, Apple, JPMorgan Chase and private equity firm Advent.