Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson resigns from Board

Lululemon Athletica said its Founder Chip Wilson is stepping down from the company's Board of Directors.

Wilson, who founded Lululemon in 1998, led the company through many business cycles as he expanded it from a small storefront in Vancouver to an international brand with over 250 stores.

In January 2012, Wilson left his position as Chief Innovation and Branding Officer at lululemon and began a sabbatical in Australia where he was away from day to day management. In the spring of 2013 he was asked by the lululemon board to return to help handle a crisis that occurred while he was away and position the company towards longer-term corporate objectives.

Wilson has a legacy of entrepreneurship and working with companies at the start-up phase. Before founding lululemon in 1998, he was the founder of snowboard, surf, and skate apparel company Westbeach, which he ultimately sold.

Wilson will also continue to pursue his other ventures including establishing Vancouver as a center for excellence in technical apparel through the Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen University, pursuing real estate investments to enhance Vancouver, and spearheading a push toward bringing quality education to all Ethiopians funded free from foreign aid by 2030 through a non-profit Imagine1Day. (DPA)