Patrik Frisk (born 1962/1963) is a Swedish/American businessman in the apparel industry.[3] From 2020 to 2022, he was the president and CEO of Under Armour, when he succeeded the company's founder, Kevin Plank.[2] He was previously president and chief operating officer of the company since 2017.[3][4] Frisk has worked for 30 years in retail and has had senior positions at The North Face and Timberland, before joining the ALDO Group in 2014 as CEO.[4][5]
Patrik Frisk | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 or 1963 (age 61–62)[1] Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish and American |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Former CEO, Under Armour[2] |
| Term | January 2020-May 2022 |
| Predecessor | Kevin Plank |
| Board member of | Under Armour |
Early life
editFrisk was born in Sweden.[6]
Career
editEarly career
editEarly in his career, Frisk was involved in several enterprises in Gällstad, Sweden, including the Swedish apparel company Ivanhoe.[7] He helped launch Lager 157, a Swedish chain of specialty retail clothing stores, in the early 2000s.[3][7] He subsequently held senior positions at the Swedish outdoor-apparel maker Peak Performance and at W. L. Gore and Associates, the maker of Gore-Tex fabrics.[3] Later Frisk joined the American apparel and footwear company VF Corporation.[3]
Afterwards as president of The Timberland Company,[3][7] he was "credited with revitalizing the Timberland brand" during his three-year tenure at the company.[3] In April 2014, Frisk was promoted to coalition president for Outdoor Americas, with responsibility for The North Face, Timberland, JanSport, Lucy Activewear, and Smartwool brands.[8]
Aldo Group
editIn 2014, Frisk became CEO of the footwear company and retailer Aldo Group.[3] Frisk restructured the company,[7] including streamlining its North American operations while expanding overseas, reassessing styles and brands, increasing sales to other chains,[9] establishing new systems and products, increasing research on customers,[10] digitizing the company,[9] and implementing Salesforce.com products to understand and communicate with customers.[11] Frisk's role was also to prepare the company for the founder's son, David Bensadoun, to take over.[7] Frisk left at the end of March 2017 to make way for Bensadoun as CEO.[3]
Under Armour
editIn 2017, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank asked him to become president and chief operating officer; in doing so Plank relinquished his own status as president and also re-filled the COO position, which had not existed since 2015.[3] Frisk assumed the offices effective 2017, with responsibility for go-to-market strategy and execution of its long-term growth plan. The company reorganized so that the heads of revenue, product, marketing, supply chain, and strategy reported to Frisk, who in turn reported to Plank.[12]
Frisk was brought in after Under Armour's two decades of North American growth dipped in 2017, particularly from competition via Nike and Adidas and from changing consumer buying patterns.[3][13] He launched a multi-year restructuring plan to cut costs, reduce inventory levels, tighten operations, and stabilize business.[13][11] He began refocusing the company on being a "performance" brand.[11] In 2018, his total compensation at Under Armour was $6,285,000.[4]
In October 2019, Plank announced that Frisk would become Under Armour's CEO in January 2020, while Plank would become executive chairman and brand chief.[14] In addition to being Under Armour's president and CEO, Frisk joined the company's board of directors.[15] He continues to report to Plank.[14]
In May 2022, Under Armour announced that Frisk would be stepping down as CEO at the beginning of June and would stay on as an advisor until September 2022.[16]
References
edit- ^ "Patrik Frisk To Become Chief Executive Officer Of Under Armour On January 1, 2020". PRNewswire. October 22, 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ a b Singh, Prachi (2019-10-22). "Patrik Frisk to replace Kevin Plank as the new Under Armour CEO". fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mirabella, Lorraine (June 27, 2017). "Under Armour brings in new president; Plank remains CEO". www.baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ a b c Weilheimer, Neil (October 22, 2019). "5 Things to Know About Kevin Plank's Successor, Patrik Frisk". Footwear News. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Timberland's Frisk Leaves to Become Aldo Group CEO". BoF. October 24, 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ Myers, Joseph (June 29, 2017). "Can Under Armour's New President Revive the Slumping Apparel Seller?". promomarketing. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "From Gällstad to global brands". www.bt.se. Borås Tidning. March 7, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ Rupp, Lindsey (October 23, 2014). "Timberland's Frisk Leaves to Become CEO of Aldo Group". www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ a b Strauss, Marina (March 11, 2016). "Aldo's Reboot". www.theglobeandmail.com. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Jones, Michael (May 31, 2016). "The Recession Mentality: 3 Ways Frugality Has Shaped Today's Consumer". Forbes. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c Withers, Brian (November 16, 2017). "Can Kevin Plank's Hired Gun Help Get Under Armour Back on Track?". www.fool.com. The Motley Fool. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Mirabella, Lorraine (June 27, 2017). "Who is new Under Armour president Patrik Frisk?". www.courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b Sun, Leo (October 24, 2019). "Can Under Armour's New CEO Bring Back the Bulls?". www.fool.com. The Motley Fool. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b Wilen, Holden (October 22, 2019). "Patrik Frisk tapped to succeed Kevin Plank as CEO of Under Armour". www.bizjournals.com. Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ Reed, Lillian (October 22, 2019). "Who is new Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk?". www.baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ Thomas, Lauren (2022-05-18). "Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk to step down, interim chief to take over June 1". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-05-20.