KEVIN PLANK

Kevin Plank walked on to the football team at the University of Maryland and played special teams. Tired of sweat-soaked cotton shirts, he graduated in 1996 and started Under Armour out of his grandmother's Georgetown townhouse, funded by a few thousand dollars from a college rose-selling business called Cupid's Valentine.

First-year sales were $17,000. He sold shirts directly to college and NFL equipment managers.

A $25,000 ad in ESPN The Magazine in 1999 brought in about $1 million in sales. Under Armour went public in November 2005 at $13 a share and crossed $1 billion in revenue in 2010.

In 2018 and 2019 the company faced reports about its workplace culture and a federal investigation into its accounting. Plank handed the CEO job to Patrik Frisk on January 1, 2020, and stayed on as executive chairman.

Frisk left in 2022 and Stephanie Linnartz lasted about a year. Plank returned as CEO in April 2024 and began a restructuring that included job cuts and, in November 2025, ending the partnership with Stephen Curry.

Under Armour — founder (1996–present), CEO 1996–2019, executive chairman 2020–2024, CEO again since April 2024. Sagamore Ventures — his investment company, a partner (with Goldman Sachs, MAG Partners and MacFarlane Partners) in the $5.5 billion Baltimore Peninsula project, formerly Port Covington.

Sagamore Spirit — Maryland rye whiskey brand founded in 2013, distillery opened in Baltimore in 2017. Sagamore Farm — the historic Vanderbilt horse farm, bought in 2007.

Sagamore Pendry — luxury hotel in Baltimore's Fells Point.

Plank invests in Baltimore and in bets tied to his personal identity. Real estate, whiskey, and sports are his lanes.

He backs projects where he can be physically present, personally visible, and emotionally invested. He is not a portfolio diversifier.

Taking Under Armour from a basement startup that sold $17,000 of shirts in its first year to a company with $1 billion in revenue by 2010 and a stock market value above $15 billion at its 2015 peak. The 2005 IPO priced at $13 a share and the stock roughly doubled on its first day.

He made moisture-wicking compression gear mainstream in American locker rooms.

The connected fitness spree. Under Armour spent $710 million buying MapMyFitness ($150 million in 2013), then MyFitnessPal ($475 million) and Endomondo ($85 million) in 2015.

The plan was a data-driven fitness ecosystem to rival Nike. It never paid off.

Under Armour sold MyFitnessPal for $345 million in 2020, shut Endomondo down that same year, and sold MapMyFitness to Outside in 2024. The apps distracted the company during critical years in footwear and apparel.

Compete everywhere at once. Plank wanted Under Armour to win in footwear, apparel, accessories and connected fitness at the same time, a multi-front assault on Nike and Adidas.

He was right that the market was huge. He underestimated the speed and capital each front required.

Born in 1972 in Kensington, Maryland, the youngest of five brothers. His mother was mayor of Kensington.

He married Desiree "D.J." Guerzon, a registered nurse, in 2003. They have two children and live in Lutherville, Maryland.

His personal identity and business interests are deeply tied to Baltimore and Maryland.

St. John's College High School in Washington (1990).

BA in business administration, University of Maryland, College Park (1996), where he walked on to the football team and played special teams, a position that rewards relentless effort over natural talent.

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