• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

2

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

3

10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy

1

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

2

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

3

10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy
MPWLeadership

Ex-Lululemon CEO on why she left the company

By
Beth Kowitt
Beth Kowitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Beth Kowitt
Beth Kowitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 3, 2014, 3:46 PM ET
Video Poster

Former Lululemon (LULU) CEO Christine Day talked openly for the first time about why she left the apparel retailer at Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen conference on Wednesday.

She said at the end of her time at the company, her vision didn’t match founder Chip Wilson’s. “You have to take control of your own life and say, ‘This isn’t working for me.’” She added that Wilson loved disruption and clash: “That wasn’t who I was and that wasn’t going to work for me.”

Day also said that the company’s see-through yoga pants fiasco never felt like the big failure of her career, noting that you have to be willing to “manage through bad times as well as good times.”

Fortune previously detailed Day’s departure from the Vancouver-based company, but her onstage comments at the conference were the first time she addressed her culture clash with Chip Wilson directly.

Day planned to take time off after leaving Lululemon but soon after joined Luvo, a healthy food company that’s trying to put nutrition back in frozen foods. “I met with the founder, and I was captured by the mission,” she said. She noted that about 73% of healthcare dollars are spent on food-caused disease, and she saw an opportunity or marketplace disruption.

Day has made a career of working for disruptive consumer-facing companies. She started at Starbucks (SBUX) when it was a $400,000 in revenue operation and left 20 years later when it was $8 billion. She said she loves to create the business model for new concepts at companies that are also purpose driven. “If you wait for the evidence, you’re not the first mover,” she said.

Day left Starbucks under less fraught backdrop than her departure for Lululemon. She had worked for the company for two decades and needed to know “what was Starbucks and what was me. I needed to know what I was capable of.”

For more news and insights about women leaders, visit the Fortune MPW Channel and subscribe to our daily newsletter, The Broadsheet.

About the Author
By Beth Kowitt
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

Melinda French Gates is done waiting for health care to take menopause seriously
MPWMost Powerful Women
Melinda French Gates is done waiting for health care to take menopause seriously
By Emma HinchliffeJune 5, 2026
6 hours ago
Jane Lynch
SuccessCareers
Former ‘Glee’ star Jane Lynch says the secret to career success isn’t a 10-year plan: ‘Life doesn’t care about your timeline’
By Preston ForeJune 5, 2026
7 hours ago
‘Nobody knows what they’re doing’ says Michelle Obama  
SuccessMichelle Obama
‘Nobody knows what they’re doing’ says Michelle Obama  
By Sam BirchallJune 5, 2026
7 hours ago
Melinda French Gates is betting $215 million on women’s health—and daring her fellow billionaires to follow
MPWMost Powerful Women
Melinda French Gates is betting $215 million on women’s health—and daring her fellow billionaires to follow
By Emma HinchliffeJune 4, 2026
1 day ago
BT’s CEO is bringing football logic to Britain’s digital future
EuropeBT GROUP
BT’s CEO is bringing football logic to Britain’s digital future
By Francesca CassidyJune 4, 2026
1 day ago
What Alix Earle knows about business that many of my Harvard Business School students don’t get
CommentaryFortune Media Network
What Alix Earle knows about business that many of my Harvard Business School students don’t get
By Reza SatchuJune 4, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
13 hours ago
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Cybersecurity
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
By Sasha RogelbergJune 3, 2026
2 days ago
10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy
Economy
10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy
By Nick LichtenbergJune 4, 2026
1 day ago
CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it
Success
CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 4, 2026
2 days ago
A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
Startups & Venture
A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
By Shawn TullyJune 4, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 4, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 4, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.