Lululemon Athletica founder Dennis “Chip” Wilson left the company’s board in 2015, but he has been a thorn in the activewear giant’s side for months, resuming last autumn a years-long campaign in which he has frequently and publicly accused it of becoming a lumbering corporate dinosaur that has lost its edge.
Wilson ramped up that pressure in late December by launching a proxy battle to force the departure of three directors who are up for re-election at its next annual shareholder meeting, taking place in the spring, even as it looks for a new CEO. Last month, he went further, saying that in fact more than three directors needed to go. (Wilson himself is not running, saying, “This campaign for change cannot be about me. It is about recommitting Lululemon to genuine creative leadership.”)
