Stephanie Linnartz is continuing to build her team at Under Armour.
Just under one year since Linnartz took the helm of the Baltimore-based sports brand, the company has named Yassine Saidi chief product officer and Kara Trent president of the Americas.
Saidi will join the company on Jan. 29, and Trent, who is currently serving as the managing director of the company’s EMEA region, will assume her new role in February. Trent will succeed David Baxter, who will depart the company on Feb. 16. The position of chief product officer has been vacant since Lisa Collier exited last August.
Both will report to Linnartz, president and chief executive officer of Under Armour.
“In the past year, we have added incredible executive talent to Under Armour, and I am confident that Yassine’s and Kara’s demonstrated track records of leadership and expertise will further strengthen our ability to build an even more powerful brand,” Linnartz said. “We will continue to advance our growth strategies, driving greater demand for the brand through groundbreaking innovation and design.”
Saidi brings nearly 20 years of industry experience to his role including stints at Adidas and Puma where he worked closely in the sneaker market and also helped develop performance gear. As chief product officer, Saidi will be responsible for building product strategies across apparel, footwear and accessories and will manage the overall global product vision for the corporation.
“Under Armour has a long and rich heritage as an innovator in sports, driven to fuel athletic performance,” he said. “I see the massive opportunity to harness UA’s constant innovation and authenticity on-field with athletes to grow and evolve the business off-field. I am incredibly excited to join Under Armour at such a pivotal moment in its history.”
Kara Trent
Courtesy of Under Armour
Trent, who joined Under Armour in 2015, has been responsible for EMEA, the company’s second-largest market, since October 2021. During her tenure, she has built a performance-based culture and contributed to consistent, double-digit revenue growth, the company said. She has also strengthened Under Armour’s premium positioning in the region. Before overseeing EMEA, she had worked in a number of merchandising and planning positions for Under Armour’s North American business. She also worked at Puma for eight years and Reebok for five.
In addition to these key executives, over the past year, Under Armour has made a number of other senior appointments including Jim Dausch as chief customer officer; Shawn Curran as chief supply chain officer; John Varvatos as head of design, and Amanda Miller as chief communications officer.
The company is still searching for a chief marketing officer and senior vice president for footwear.
Linnartz spent 25 years at Marriott International before being named CEO of Under Armour last February. She has been working to better position the company for growth by building her team, improving the North American market and offering more premium product.
In the second quarter ended Sept. 30, Under Armour reported net income of $109.6 million, or 24 cents a share, up from $86.9 million, or 19 cents a share, in the prior year. Sales were flat year-over-year, coming in at $1.567 billion, down marginally from $1.574 billion a year ago.
North America, the company’s largest market, showed a sales decrease of 2 percent from the prior year to $991 million, while international revenue rose 5 percent to $573 million.
As a result, the company maintained its fiscal 2024 operating income and earnings-per-share outlook but lowered its sales expectations due in large part to continued challenges in North America.
Linnartz said at the time: “As we execute against our strategic priorities, we will continue to take a balanced approach to driving profitability in the near term while taking the necessary steps to invest in the talent, systems, and processes to drive the top-line growth that Under Armour is capable of over the long term.”
