Christine M. Day (born 1962) is a Canadian retail executive. She was the CEO of the Vancouver-based food company Luvo Inc. since January 2014. From 2008 through December 2013, she was the CEO of the Canadian clothing company Lululemon Athletica. Prior to taking her post at Lululemon she worked for Starbucks' Asia-Pacific division.
Early life and education
Day was born in Northern Ireland. When her father's career as a professional soccer player was ended by a knee injury, the family emigrated to Canada and settled in British Columbia where he worked as an engineer. In 1984, she received her undergraduate degree from Central Washington University.
Career
After graduating from college, Day worked for private-equity corporation, Integrated Resources, where she learned about investment. Later, Day worked for a financial services firm. One of its clients was Howard Schultz, who owned the Il Giornale coffee outlet and was looking to expand the company by purchasing Starbucks. In 1986, Day began working for Schultz's company and remained with Starbucks for the next 20 years. In 2002, she attended Harvard Business School's six-week advanced management program. In 2003, she became the head of Starbucks' Asia-Pacific division.
Day became CEO of Lululemon Athletica in January 2008. In 2011, she became the first woman to be named "CEO of the Year" by The Globe and Mail and was named "Marketer of the Year" by the Canadian Marketing Association. In June 2013, Day announced that she would be resigning as CEO of the company. Laurent Potdevin was later named as the company's new CEO.
Day became the new CEO of Luvo Inc., a startup food and catering company that sells healthy frozen foods. It is 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. Day has said that she was drawn to Luvo's company mission, and believed it had an opportunity for marketplace disruption.
Day is currently a partner in the Vancouver-based venture capital firm Campfire Capital.
Personal life
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.
References
- Brown, Heidi (4 September 2009). "From Lattes To Yoga Pants". Forbes. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ Edgecliffe-Johnson, Andrew (9 May 2011). "A chief executive's game plan in trying times". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Bouw, Brenda. How former Lululemon CEO Christine Day invests her money, The Globe and Mail, November 20, 2016. Accessed January 2, 2021
- "Innovation: Frozen Assets - Alumni - Harvard Business School". www.alumni.hbs.edu. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ Strauss, Marina (9 March 2013). "In the sweaty pursuit of innovation". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ O'Connor, Clare (14 January 2015). "Outgoing Lululemon CEO Christine Day To Take Helm At Healthy Fast Food Firm Luvo". Forbes. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- Peer, Melinda. "Christine Day Breathes New Life Into Lululemon". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- Central Washington University (9 June 2012). "Christine Day to CWU Grads: Values create opportunity, personal freedom". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- "Lululemon's departing CEO: 'My values include discretion'". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- "Lululemon's Chief Executive Resigns Over Behavior". Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- Kapner, Suzanne (14 January 2014). "Former Lululemon CEO to Run Healthy Foods Startup". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- "Ex-Lululemon CEO on why she left the company". Fortune. December 3, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
Further reading
The following have further material on Day's management style:
- Hill, Charles; Jones, Gareth; Schilling, Melissa (2014). "External Analysis The Identification of Opportunities and Threats: Lululemon". Strategic Management: Theory & Cases: An Integrated Approach, pp. 175–178. Cengage Learning. ISBN 1305142721
- Taylor, Timothy (24 November 2011). "CEO of the Year: Christine Day of Lululemon". The Globe and Mail
- Williamson, R. Douglas (2013). "41. Acting When Pivot Points Emerge: Lululemon Athletica". Straight Talk on Leadership: Solving Canada's Business Crisis. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 1118583019
- 1962 births
- Living people
- Emigrants from Northern Ireland to Canada
- Canadian corporate directors
- Canadian retail chief executives
- Canadian women business executives
- Central Washington University alumni
- Lululemon Athletica
- Businesspeople from Northern Ireland
- Starbucks people
- Women corporate directors
- Businesspeople from British Columbia