BALTIMORE – US sports brand Under Armour has hired a new finance chief and digital product head as part of a continued restructuring effort to help stem declining sales. The company has come under increasing pressure in the past 12 months thanks, among other things, to a stagnating North American sportswear market and a notable upturn in one of its key competitors, Adidas. The latest available figures show that Under Armour profits fell by 58 per cent to US$54.2 million in the three months ended September, as sales slumped 4.5 per cent to US$1.41 billion, from the corresponding period a year earlier.
In recent months, Under Armour has waved goodbye to its co-founder and chief marketing officer as well as a number of heads of its divisions handling footwear, women & children’s wear, and sport fashion.
As part of the latest executive shake-up, David Bergman has been named chief financial officer (CFO). Bergman has served as acting CFO since February 2017.
“David Bergman brings strong financial expertise, leadership and a deep understanding of the Under Armour brand to this role,” said Under Armour chairman and CEO Kevin Plank. “In his 13-year career at UA, he has a proven track record of developing and leading our global finance organisation through significant milestones including our initial public offering, helping to create our international business, and through our restructuring efforts this year – driving consistently higher standards of return-oriented, financial discipline.”
In a bid to drive digital performance, Michael La Guardia has been appointed senior vice president, digital product where he will have responsibility for leading the strategy for all digital product development.
Meanwhile, Mike Lee and Albert Lee, the co-founders of MyFitnessPal – purchased by Under Armour in 2015 – have announced their decision to leave the company to pursue new entrepreneurial ventures.
