Lululemon picks former Sears, Loblaw exec as CEO
VANCOUVER — Lululemon Athletica Inc. has tapped a former Sephora and Sears Canada executive to assume the top job at the athleisure apparel company.
Calvin McDonald will take on the role of CEO at the Vancouver-based retailer on Aug. 20, Lululemon said Tuesday.
“[He] has an impressive track record leading organizations through periods of significant growth and innovation,” said board chairman Glenn Murphy.
“He is the ideal match for the Lululemon brand and culture,” he said, highlighting McDonald’s consumer mindset and performance drive approach.
The company’s last CEO, Laurent Potdevin, suddenly stepped down in February.
Potdevin, who assumed the role in 2014, engaged in a yearslong relationship with a designer who worked for the company first as an employee and later as a contractor. A source told the Canadian Press the relationship was one of several instances where Potdevin fell short of the retailer’s standards of conduct.
The retailer’s board of directors started searching for a new candidate immediately upon Potdevin’s resignation. The monthslong search brought them to McDonald, who will also become a board member.
McDonald served as president and CEO of Americas for cosmetics boutique Sephora for the past five years, starting in 2013. Before that, he spent two years as president and CEO of nowdefunct department store chain Sears Canada. He also spent 17 years in various roles with Loblaw Companies Ltd.
McDonald will be paid an initial base salary of $1.25 million and will be eligible to receive an annual target performance bonus of 150 per cent of the base salary and equity rewards equal to $6 million, according to regulatory documents. The Canadianborn McDonald earned his MBA at the University of Toronto.