Baltimore athletic apparel company Under Armour announced Monday that the president it plucked from Lands' End to run its core businesses is resigning after two years on the job.
David McCreight's last day will be Aug. 20. McCreight had been hired for his years of retail experience, including as president of Lands' End.
Kevin Plank, who founded Under Armour in his grandmother's basement more than a decade ago, will resume the role of president. It is a position Plank gave up when he hired McCreight and was looking to divide his duties. Plank also serves as chief executive and chairman.
McCreight will continue to receive his salary for a year after his resignation, according to his contract. He took home a salary of $974,225 in 2009 and nearly $5 million in 2008, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A spokeswoman for Under Armour said McCreight was not available for an interview. The company declined to say why he was leaving, but said that there was no reason for concern.
"This is a natural part of building the platform for a large, scalable business — you are constantly growing and adjusting your team," the spokeswoman, Diane Pelkey, said in a response by e-mail.
Plank praised McCreight for the work he has done in the past two years.
"I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge David's accomplishments and I want to thank him for his many contributions," Plank said in a statement. We are confident this will be a smooth transition, and I am excited about driving the Under Armour brand forward around the world."
Neither McCreight nor the company said what he would do next.
"I am proud to have been part of the most dynamic brand in sport, and some of the special accomplishments achieved by the Under Armour team over the past two years," McCreight said in a statement. "Under Armour has a great vision, strong management team, deep connection to today's athlete and is poised for greatness."
One analyst said he didn't think the resignation should cause concern. The Under Armour management team had restructured so that "brand presidents" seemed to be overseeing the duties that once belonged to McCreight. He said the role of president might have become obsolete.
"We're not terribly surprised by the announcement," said Taposh Bari, an analyst with Jeffries & Co. "Based on recent hires, it sounds like the company is aligned differently."
The resignation follows other recent top executive departures from the company.
Suzanne J. Karkus resigned from her role as senior vice president of apparel in February. At the time, the company said she left to pursue other interests and spend more time with her family. She came to the company from Izod Womenswear in 2007.
The company's head of footwear, Raphael Peck, left the company in June 2009 after being there since 2002. He left as the company's footwear sales began to flounder and the company announced plans to revamp the division.