Under Armour Revamps Leadership to Accelerate Turnaround Strategy

BALTIMORE, MD – January 15, 2026 – Under Armour, Inc. has announced a significant restructuring of its senior leadership team, a strategic maneuver aimed at accelerating its ongoing corporate transformation. Effective February 2, the athletic apparel giant will install Kara Trent as Chief Merchandising Officer and veteran insider Adam Peake as President, Americas. The moves signal a concerted effort to address persistent challenges in product strategy and lagging performance in its largest market.

These executive changes are the latest and most decisive step in a multi-year effort to revitalize the brand, which has faced flat revenue growth and profitability struggles. The appointments are designed to create a more unified operating model, aligning the company's product, brand, and go-to-market strategies to drive what the company hopes will be sustainable growth and improved financial results.

"Our transformation is gaining momentum as we take deliberate actions to sharpen our focus, strengthen our operational rigor, and elevate how we serve athletes," said Kevin Plank, Under Armour President and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement accompanying the announcement. "These moves bring clarity, cohesion, and energy to the work ahead. I'm confident in the leadership we're putting in place and inspired by the path we're building together."

A Strategy in Motion

The leadership shuffle is a direct execution of the comprehensive turnaround plan Under Armour detailed to investors in late 2024. At the time, the company outlined a four-pillar strategy focusing on Product, Story (brand), Market, and Team. The appointments of Trent and Peake are squarely aimed at reinforcing the 'Product' and 'Market' pillars, areas where the company has faced significant headwinds.

For the last three years, Under Armour's revenue has hovered around the $5 billion mark with no significant growth. The company has posted negative earnings per share and a net margin of -1.74%, indicating a pressing need for operational and financial improvement. Despite a surprising earnings beat in its second fiscal quarter of 2025, the broader financial picture has been one of volatility and stress, with some analysts citing weak North American trends as a primary concern. Plank has previously described the company as a "$5B startup," signaling an aggressive mindset geared toward recapturing market share and returning to a growth trajectory. This leadership overhaul is the tangible embodiment of that aggressive stance, placing experienced operators in charge of the company's most critical functions.

Fixing the Americas Frontline

The appointment of Adam Peake as President, Americas, places a 16-year company veteran at the helm of its most crucial, yet troubled, region. The North and South American markets represent the largest piece of Under Armour's business but have been a source of weakness, a fact noted by multiple financial analysts. The market is intensely competitive, with giants like Nike and Adidas dominating and nimble competitors like Lululemon carving out significant territory.

Peake, who previously held senior roles across U.S. sales, global marketing, and sport category leadership, brings a deep institutional knowledge of Under Armour's ecosystem. His mandate is clear: reverse the negative trends and deliver sustainable results. His responsibilities will include overseeing marketplace strategy, distribution, and accelerating omni-channel growth. The company's transformation plan for the Americas specifically calls for resetting the brand through more disciplined marketplace management, optimizing promotions, and driving a more premium representation. Peake's cross-functional experience is seen as uniquely positioning him to integrate product and marketing strategies to strengthen brand relevance, particularly with the youth and team sports segments that Under Armour is keen to reconnect with.

Re-engineering the Product Engine

Simultaneously, the elevation of Kara Trent to the newly created role of Chief Merchandising Officer directly addresses the 'Product' pillar of the turnaround strategy. Trent, who previously served as President, Americas, and before that as Managing Director for the EMEA region, will now have global oversight of the brand's entire product portfolio.

Her new role is designed to bring end-to-end accountability to the product life cycle. She will lead category management and go-to-market initiatives, overseeing product line architecture, assortment planning, and channel segmentation. A key focus of her role will be driving revenue and margin optimization by better aligning product investment with consumer demand, a critical task for a company looking to improve its negative net margin. This includes improving SKU productivity and strengthening profitability across all sales channels. Trent's track record of delivering sustained growth and operational rigor in the EMEA region provides a blueprint for the disciplined execution she is expected to bring to the global merchandising function. This move centralizes product strategy under a single leader tasked with making Under Armour's offerings more compelling to consumers and more profitable for the business.

Continuity in Creative Expression

While the appointments of Peake and Trent signal a sharp focus on operational and commercial execution, the company is also ensuring its creative evolution continues. Yassine Saidi, who joined in 2024 and has been instrumental in sharpening the brand's design language as Chief Product Officer, will transition to a Senior Advisor role focused on design expression and creative continuity.

This move suggests a deliberate strategy to separate the operational mechanics of product merchandising from the long-term vision of creative design. In his new advisory capacity, Saidi will continue to shape the brand's aesthetic and push creative boundaries. This ensures that as the company doubles down on operational discipline under Trent, it does not lose the design momentum that is crucial for maintaining brand relevance and consumer desire in the fashion-conscious athletic wear market. The dual focus on operational excellence and sustained creative innovation represents Under Armour's comprehensive approach to navigating its path forward.