Christine M. Day

Christine M. Day (born 1962) is a Canadian retail executive. From 2008 through December 2013, she was the CEO of the Canadian clothing company Lululemon Athletica. Prior to taking up her post at Lululemon she had worked for Starbucks for twenty years, eventually becoming the head of its Asia-Pacific division. She has been the CEO of the Vancouver-based food company Luvo since January 2014.

Life and career

After obtaining her first degree in 1984 Christine Day began her career working for a financial services firm specializing in private equity placements. One of its clients was Howard Schultz who owned the Il Giornale coffee outlet and was looking to expand the company by purchasing Starbucks. Day began working as the office manager for Schultz's then fledgling company in 1986 and remained with Starbucks for the next 20 years, gradually rising through its ranks. In 2002 she graduated from Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program and by 2003 had become the head of Starbuck's Asia-Pacific division.[1][2][3]

She left Starbucks in 2006 and took a year's sabbatical before joining Lululemon Athletica as executive vice-president of its retail operations in January 2008. Six months later, she became the company's CEO and joined its Board of directors.[1][4] During her time at Lululemon, Day was credited with driving its expansion to an international company, with Lululemon's stock rising by over 400% during her tenure.[3] In 2011, she became the first woman to be named "CEO of the Year" by the Toronto Globe and Mail and was named "Marketer of the Year" by the Canadian Marketing Association.[5] Day announced that she would be resigning as CEO of the company in June 2013, but would stay on for the next six months until her replacement was found. In January 2014 Laurent Potdevin was named the new CEO of Lululemon. Day became the new CEO of Luvo Inc., a startup food and catering company based in Vancouver with most of its operations in Atlanta, Georgia. She owns 15% of Luvo and is the company's second largest shareholder after its founder Steve Sidwell.[3][6]

Day served as corporate director of Select Comfort Corporation and of Nu Skin.

Education

Day received her BA in Administrative Management from Central Washington University in 1984. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. [7]

Personal life

Day was born in Northern Ireland. When her father's career as a professional soccer player was ended by a knee injury, the family immigrated to Canada and settled in British Columbia where he worked as an engineer.[8]

Day is married with two sons and a daughter. Her husband Pat held a senior post at Boeing for twenty years but retired from the company after the birth of their youngest child.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Edgecliffe-Johnson, Andrew (9 May 2011). "A chief executive's game plan in trying times". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Strauss, Marina (9 March 2013). "In the sweaty pursuit of innovation". Toronto Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 O'Connor, Clare (14 January 2014). "Outgoing Lululemon CEO Christine Day To Take Helm At Healthy Fast Food Firm Luvo". Forbes. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Forbes Executive Profiles: Christine Day. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Central Washington University (9 June 2012). "Christine Day to CWU Grads: Values create opportunity, personal freedom". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Kapner, Suzanne (14 January 2014). "Former Lululemon CEO to Run Healthy Foods Startup". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/profile/christine-day/
  8. ↑ Brown, Heidi (4 September 2009). "From Lattes To Yoga Pants". Forbes. Retrieved 16 March 2014.

Further reading

The following have further material on Day's management style:

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