Dennis J "Chip" Wilson was born on April 25,1955 and is an American-Canadian businessman, investor, and philanthropist who has founded several retail apparel companies, most notably the yoga-inspired athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica.
32 Facts About Chip Wilson
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Dennis J "Chip" Wilson was born on April 25,1955 in Los Angeles, California.
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Chip Wilson grew up in an athletic environment along with his two siblings, his Canadian father Dennis Wilson being an ice hockey and football player, and his American mother Ruth Noel being a gymnast.
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Chip Wilson's parents met while they were attending Brigham Young University, as his father played football there.
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Chip Wilson's father worked for UPS, while his stay-at-home mother did sewing, exposing Wilson to a wide variety of fabrics.
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When Chip Wilson was five, the family moved to his father's hometown of Calgary, Alberta, where Chip Wilson got involved in competitive swimming.
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When Chip Wilson was twelve, his parents filed for divorced with both of them remarrying afterwards.
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Chip Wilson moved to Edmonton to attended the University of Alberta and play football there, however he postponed his education to move to Fairbanks, Alaska and work for the oil industry, before returning to Calgary and graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Calgary in 1980.
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In 1979, Chip Wilson founded his first retail apparel company, Westbeach Snowboard Ltd, which sold apparel targeted at the surf, skate, and snowboard markets.
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Chip Wilson sold Westbeach in 1997 and founded Lululemon Athletica in 1998.
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In January 2012, Chip Wilson retired from his executive post as chief innovation and branding officer, but remained chairman of the board of directors.
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In June 2014, Chip Wilson raised concerns that the Lululemon board was not aligned with the core values of product and innovation on which the company was founded, and on which it thrived.
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In June 2016, Chip Wilson published an open letter to shareholders of Lululemon stating that it had "lost its way" and given up market share to Nike and Under Armour, after he was denied the opportunity to speak at the company's annual meetings.
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In 2019, Chip Wilson sold millions of shares for about $800M while the stock rallied, further reducing his stake in the company.
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Chip Wilson has often mentioned the influence of philosopher Ayn Rand on shaping his entrepreneurial and personal philosophy, often alluding to passages from the novel Atlas Shrugged.
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In 2018, Chip Wilson was inducted into the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame.
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Chip Wilson is listed on the Forbes World Billionaires List, currently ranked the 574th richest person in the world.
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Chip Wilson is credited by Business Insider and Forbes as being the 8th richest person in Canada.
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Chip Wilson is a partner with Anta Sports, a sportswear company based in Jinjiang China, with whom he purchased Amer Sports after looking to acquire Amer on his own.
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The Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University is a $36 million project.
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Chip and Shannon Wilson pledged $12 million to the school with the goal of solidifying the future of BC's technical apparel industry.
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Frequently involved in the funding, acquisition, and donation of public art, Chip Wilson has donated a number of public artworks he has funded.
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Chip Wilson has expressed multiple views regarding politics, the facilitation of Lululemon, and women's health, some of which received controversy and negative reception.
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Chip Wilson has used his website "Elevate Lululemon" to criticise the brand and current business practises.
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Chip Wilson has five sons, two from his first marriage to Nancy Herb.
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Chip Wilson married Shannon Wilson in 2002, who is one of the original designers of Lululemon and co-founder of Kit and Ace with Wilson's son JJ Wilson.
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Chip Wilson was diagnosed with a subtype of muscular dystrophy called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy at age 32.
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Chip Wilson has donated 100 million Canadian dollars towards research.
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Chip Wilson has often given interviews to media outlets in Canada and abroad.
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Chip Wilson has acted as a contributor to online outlets, including Forbes.
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On November 18,2013, Chip Wilson was the subject of The Colbert Reports "Alpha Dog of the Week"; Stephen Colbert sarcastically criticized Chip Wilson for his views on the influence of birth control and for having said that some women's bodies "just actually don't work" for his company's pants.
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In 2014, it was announced that Chip Wilson would receive an honorary doctorate from Emily Carr University, along with his wife.