Under Armour has announced two additions to its leadership team as it continues the search for a new CEO. On Oct. 24, David Baxter will be promoted to President of the Americas, succeeding Stephanie Pugliese, who is stepping down and leaving the company; and Mehri Shadman has been appointed Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary as current Chief Legal Officer John Stanton retires after 16 years with the company.
Before joining Under Armour in 2020 as SVP of Americas Wholesale, Baxter served as President and CEO of LIDS Sports Group from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, Baxter held various leadership roles at Adidas and Reebok. Pugliese will remain until early 2023 to support Baxter’s transition.
Shadman has been with Under Armour for nine years and currently serves as the Deputy General Counsel, Corporate and Risk and Assistant Corporate Secretary.
“We’re very excited to recognize the talent that David and Mehri bring to our business,” said Colin Browne, Interim President and CEO of Under Armour in a statement. “With deep market knowledge and outstanding expertise we look forward to their proven leadership qualities helping to architect our next growth chapter.”
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That next chapter has been a bit rocky so far. Under Armour saw business begin to slide in 2017 following years of record growth. The company underwent several rounds of jobs cuts and a $200 million dollar restructuring in 2018, followed by an SEC investigation into its accounting practices in 2019.
Earlier this year, Patrik Frisk stepped down as President, CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Under Armour, less than two years after taking the helm from founder Kevin Plank. Then in August, Under Armour cut its profit outlook for fiscal year 2023 as promotions ate away at margins and litigation costs for ongoing lawsuits continued to cut into profits. Earlier that same month, the company settled a lawsuit with UCLA for $67.49 million over a terminated apparel contract. Still, the company’s earnings for Q1 of fiscal 2023 were in line with expectations.
