Background
Kevin A. Plank, an American businessman, billionaire and philanthropist, was born August 13, 1972. He is the CEO and chairman of Under Armour. The Baltimore-based brand manufactures athletic sportswear, footwear and accessories.
(Kevin Plank, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Und...)
Kevin Plank, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Under Armour, speaks with Economic Club president David M. Rubenstein on Tuesday, November 27, 2018.
https://interview.net/kevin-plank/
2019
entrepreneur apparel executive
Kevin A. Plank, an American businessman, billionaire and philanthropist, was born August 13, 1972. He is the CEO and chairman of Under Armour. The Baltimore-based brand manufactures athletic sportswear, footwear and accessories.
Plank earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland. He earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Kevin Plank got the idea for Under Armour while playing football in college. The cotton T-shirts he wore in practice quickly soaked with sweat. Plank found a synthetic material that wicked moisture and launched the Under Armour business from his grandmother’s basement in 1995. In calling the shirts performance apparel, he created a new category in athletic wear.
Plank initially marketed the brand by giving free shirts to former teammates who had gone on to play in the NFL. The HeatGear shirts were distributed throughout league locker rooms. Georgia Tech was the first team to buy the shirts, and other Division I and NFL teams soon followed suit. Sales at the end of 1996 totaled $17,000.
Under Armour purchased a $25,000 ad in ESPN The Magazine in 1999, generating $1 million in direct sales the following year. The company went public in 2005, and revenues reached $1 billion in 2010. Plank’s estimated net worth in 2015 was $3.5 billion.
That year, Plank envisioned a global digital health platform and purchased two existing fitness apps for $475 million. The network now boasts 150 million users.
Under Armour is popular in every major sport, and several well-known athletes endorse it.
Plank has been named Achiever of the Year by Success and Businessperson of the Year by Fortune. He has been named among the 50 Most Influential People in Sports by Sporting News and among the Most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under by Forbes. He was also selected for membership by the editors of Business of Fashion; the BoF 500 is a professional index of noteworthy contributors to the fashion industry.
(Kevin Plank, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Und...)
2019Kevin Plank donated $25 million to the University of Maryland in 2014.
In 2015, he pledged $16 million to St. John’s College High School, his alma mater.
In 2016, he made a $1 million contribution to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The gift will pay tuition for 100 Catholic school students. He donated $1 million to College Bound so that more Baltimore-area high schoolers can continue their education. He spent $5 million to fund a new learning center for Living Classrooms, a hands-on educational opportunity.
Kevin Plank serves on the board of trustees of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation and on the board of directors of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Greater Baltimore Committee and Greater Washington Partnership.
Plank is involved with the Startup America Partnership, which supports young entrepreneurs, and he started an endowment fund for the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. He also founded Cupid’s Cup, an annual business competition.
Board trustees University Maryland College Park Foundation, Living Classrooms, Baltimore-Washington, National Football Foundation. Board directors Baltimore City Fire Foundation, Greater Baltimore Committee, Greater Washington Sports Alliance. Member of Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (board trustees).
Married Desiree Jacqueline Guerzon, March 2003. 1 child Kevin James.