Chip Wilson Pushes Bold 2026 Shake-Up at Lululemon

Chip Wilson, Founder of Lululemon Athletica Inc., is escalating pressure with a fresh boardroom challenge, formally nominating three independent director candidates for election at the company’s 2026 Annual Meeting and urging a significant shift in the board’s structure. The founder and major shareholder wants to remake the board before a new CEO is chosen, arguing that only a reconstituted, creatively led board can restore long-term growth and brand heat at Lululemon.​

What Chip Wilson Is Proposing

In his new campaign, Chip Wilson has put forward three independent nominees – Marc Maurer, Laura Gentile, and Eric Hirshberg – for election to the Lululemon Board of Directors at the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. At the same time, he has submitted a non-binding proposal to “declassify” the board so that all directors are elected annually, noting that only about 10 percent of S&P 500 companies still have staggered boards, a group that includes Lululemon.​

Wilson argues that a declassified board would make directors more accountable to shareholders and better positioned to oversee a turnaround in brand momentum and product leadership.

The Three Nominees: Brand and Growth Specialists

Wilson’s slate is built around leaders with deep experience in brand-building, consumer engagement, and creative strategy across performance, media, and entertainment.​

• Marc Maurer, former Co-Chief Executive Officer of On Holding AG, helped guide the performance footwear brand from an emerging player into a global premium label with strong wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, during which On’s revenue nearly quadrupled between September 14, 2021, and June 30, 2025. His background includes international expansion, product diversification across footwear and apparel, and managing a successful public listing, which Wilson says would translate into valuable operational and scaling insight for Lululemon.​
• Laura Gentile, former Chief Marketing Officer of ESPN, led global marketing, brand positioning, fan engagement, media strategy, and event marketing across all ESPN platforms and properties. 
• Eric Hirshberg, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Activision, oversaw leading franchises such as Call of Duty, Destiny, Guitar Hero, and Skylanders during a period when Activision Blizzard’s stock rose about 500 percent, and Activision’s segment profit nearly doubled between September 7, 2010, and March 31, 2018.

Wilson frames all three as “world-class creative leaders” who can restore a brand-first mindset inside the boardroom and reconnect Lululemon with its muse customer.​

Wilson Says Lululemon Needs Change Now

In his statement, Chip Wilson said that “It is clear to the world that lululemon is special, but in need of change. As I have stated for years, lululemon needs visionary creative leadership to thrive”. He claims this has undermined stakeholder confidence and left the company struggling to regain commercial momentum.​

Governance Fight and Declassification Push

Beyond the individual nominees, Wilson’s campaign taps into a wider corporate governance trend toward declassified, annually elected boards. Citing data from Diligent Market Intelligence as of May 30, 2025, the release notes that investors have been stepping up pressure on companies to move away from staggered boards as governance concerns return to the forefront.​

Who Is Involved in the Proxy Campaign

The release lists a broad group of “Participants” in the planned proxy solicitation, including Dennis J. “Chip” Wilson, Anamered Investments Inc., LIPO Investments (USA), Inc., Wilson 5 Foundation, Wilson 5 Foundation Management Ltd., Five Boys Investments ULC, Shannon Wilson, Low Tide Properties Ltd., House of Wilson Ltd., and nominees Marc Maurer, Laura Gentile and Eric Hirshberg. Together, and by virtue of their status as a Schedule 13D group, these participants are deemed to beneficially own 9,904,856 shares of Lululemon common stock on a fully converted basis, including 5,115,961 shares of special voting stock paired with exchangeable shares of Lulu Canadian Holding, Inc.​

What’s at Stake for Lululemon

If successful, Wilson’s effort could shift the balance of power on Lululemon’s board heading into a critical CEO selection process and a new phase of brand evolution. By pushing for independent directors steeped in product, brand-building, and media, he is seeking to reorient the company around creative leadership and customer inspiration, rather than pure financial stewardship.