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SOMEONE SAY IT IS THE END OF AN ERA. KEVIN PLANK WITH THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PATRICK FRISK ON CNBC ON TUESDAY. ANNOUNCING THAT ON JANUARY 1, 2020, FRISK WOULD BE THE NEW CEO AND PLAY WOULD BE THE BRAND CHIEF. >> IT WILL ALLOW PATRICK TO BE ABLE TO MAKE DECISIONS AND RUN DAY-TO-DAY. IT WILL A ME TO CONTINUE THE VISION TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS NEXT FOR THIS BRAND AND WHERE WE CAN GO. >> PLANK WAS DRAGGED INTO POLITICS WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. THE DECISION TO STEP ASIDE WAS HIS ONLY AND DID NOT COME FROM BOARD PRESSURE. >> THIS WAS MY DECISION TO GET TO THIS MOMENT OF THE ABILITY TO WORK AND HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WHERE PATRIK AND I COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER SO WELL. >> HOW WILL THIS AFFECT BALTIMORE? WE WERE TOLD THAT THE MOVE SHOULD NOT COME AS A SHOCK AND WILL ACTUALLY FREE PLANK UP TO CONTINUE WORKING ON PROJECTS HERE. >> A TERRIFIC NEW CEO. KEVIN PLANK IS OUT THERE ABLE TO FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS AS WELL. >> PATRIK WILL REPORT TO PLANK. HE WAS PREVIOUSLY CEO OF ALDO. HE SAYS THAT THE COMPANY IS SWITCHING FROM A DEFENSIVE TO AN OFFENSIVE OPERATION. >> I WILL BE RUNNING THE COMPANY DAY TODAY. IT ALSO ALLOWS KEVIN TO BE MORE STRATEGIC AND HOW WE CAN ELEVATE BIG STRATEGIC MARKETING IDEAS. >> IT SEEMS THAT SHAREHOLDERS ARE APPLAUDING THIS MOVE AS UNDER ARMOUR STOCK WAS UP-TO-DATE

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Under Armour Founder Kevin Plank will step down as CEO in the new year to become the company's executive chairman and brand chief.Plank, who started Under Armour in 1996 in his grandmother's basement and has grown itinto a multibillion-dollar company, one which he will no longer head but still have a very active role.Plank, with President and Chief Operating Officer Patrik Frisk, appeared on CNBC Tuesday, announcing that on Jan. 1, 2020, Frisk will be the company's new CEO and Plank would become executive chairman and brand chief."It will empower us. I think it's going to be freedom. It's going to allow Patrick to make decisions to run the day-to-day and will allow me to make the decisions to continue the vision and think about what's next for this brand and where we can go," Plank said.Plank and Under Armour have had a few public issues in the past few years, from Plank being dragged into political issues with President Donald Trump, to a Wall Street Journal article on the company's culture showing how executives, including Plank and employees were allowed to charge strip club expenses to corporate cards.Plank said the decision to step aside was his only and did not come from board pressure."This is my decision to get to this moment. The ability to work and frankly to have a partnership where Patrick and I complement each other so well," Plank said."I'm pretty sure that if Kevin Plank had wanted to remain CEO, he could've done that," economist Anirban Basu said.Basu said he sees the move as positive and could have a greater effect on Baltimore City."Very positive for Baltimore Under Armor stays in Baltimore terrific new CEO and a Kevin Plank who is out there able to focus on other things, as well, including things that are going to create a lot of jobs in Charm City," Basu said.As far as the man who is taking over, Frisk joined Under Armour in 2017. He was previously CEO of Aldo and an executive in VF Corporation, which holds Timberland and the North Face brands.He said most importantly, the company is switching from a defensive to an offensive operation."There will be change. I'll be running the company day to day, but it also allows Kevin to become more strategic in terms of how we think about elevating product, how we think about big strategic marketing ideas," Frisk said.Tuesday's announcement sent Under Armour's stock price soaring as investors are applauding the move, as they said, switching from defense to offense in their business approach.