Diane Pelkey, who led the communications efforts during Under Armour‘s rapid ascent in the athletic footwear industry, has departed from the brand.
“After more than a decade as a member of the Under Armour family, Diane has decided to pursue a new opportunity. We thank her for everything she has done for the brand and look forward to sharing the news soon on our newly appointed Global Head of Communications,” the company said in a statement via email.
During her time with Under Armour, which began in 2007, Pelkey was the head of the athletic giant’s global communications and entertainment division. (She started in the VP role and was promoted to SVP in 2015.)
With Pelkey leading the company’s communications efforts, Under Armour became increasingly visible within the sneaker space. During her time with the brand, Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry became a megastar in the sneaker world, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made noise for UA with his Project Rock offshoot and longtime CEO Kevin Plank developed as an expert voice in an industry long dominated by behemoths Nike and Adidas.
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Although she spent more than a decade at Under Armour, Pelkey was an established presence in the athletic footwear marketplace prior to joining the Baltimore-based brand. Before UA, she held communications leadership roles at Adidas and Reebok.
Pelkey is the latest in a string of departures from the Under Armour communications team, which last year saw the exit of Kelly McCormick and Erin Wendell.
Their exits followed a long list of executive turnover in the last few years. Two high-profile African-American female executives, SVP of global brand management Adrienne Lofton and chief human resources officer Kerry Chandler, left within months of each other in 2018. And chief merchandising officer Henry Stafford and chief digital officer Robin Thurston exited the brand at the same time in 2016.
The most notable recent executive move was Plank, who announced in October 2019 that he would step down as CEO in January and would be replaced by Patrik Frisk, who was the company’s president and COO. (Plank remains at Under Armour as executive chairman and brand chief.)
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