Under Armour is shaking up its C-suite.
On Thursday, the Baltimore-based company named Kara Trent chief merchandising officer and said that Yassine Saidi, chief product officer, will transition to become a senior adviser to the company.
Succeeding Trent as president, Americas, her former position, will be Adam Peake.
The moves, which are effective Feb. 2, are intended to “accelerate the company’s transformation by sharpening execution, reinforcing operational discipline, and aligning product, brand, and go-to-market leadership under a unified operating model to drive sustainable growth and improved financial performance,” the company said.
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Trent will oversee the company’s product line, assortment planning and channel segmentation. Saidi, who was handpicked by former Under Armour chief executive officer Stephanie Linnartz, joined the company with much fanfare in January 2024 after a long career at Adidas and Puma. In his new role, Saidi will advise on “design expression and creative continuity,” Under Armour said. Linnartz left the company in 2024 after just a year at the helm and founder Kevin Plank returned to the top post.
“Our transformation is gaining momentum as we take deliberate actions to sharpen our focus, strengthen our operational rigor, and elevate how we serve athletes,” said Plank. “These moves bring clarity, cohesion and energy to the work ahead. I’m confident in the leadership we’re putting in place and inspired by the path we’re building together.”
Trent, who has been with Under Armour for a decade, also served as managing director of Europe, Middle East and Africa for the company. She too joined Under Armour from Puma, where she had served as senior director of merchandising, lifestyle apparel and footwear. She also spent five years as a buyer for Reebok.
Peake has been with UA for 16 years and served most recently as a senior vice president of strategy. He will oversee the company’s business in North and South America with responsibility for marketplace strategy, distribution and omnichannel growth.
Under Armour is in the midst of a reinvention campaign. The once-high-flying brand has been hampered by a series of challenges that led it to report a net loss of $18.8 million on revenue of $1.3 billion in the second quarter ended Sept. 30. North American sales fell by 8 percent to $792 million in the period, a decline the company attributed to a decline in full-price wholesale business and lower e-commerce sales.
It also announced last fall that it was parting ways after more than a decade with star NBA player Stephen Curry and his Curry Brand, a blow to the company’s reputation if not its bottom line. At the time the separation was revealed, UA said it did not expect a significant impact to its results and profitability as a result of the change but said it would incur an additional $95 million in restructuring charges, bringing the total to $255 million. The previous projection was for $160 million in pretax charges.
But things are starting to look up for the company. Earlier this month, Canadian investor Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and its affiliates acquired some 42 million shares of Under Armour stock, increasing its stake in the company to 22 percent. And UBS analyst Jay Sole has said he believes UA “remains one of the world’s best known and liked athleticwear brands,” while Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser believes the company “is on the right track.”