1. What are two industry trends you are watching most closely?
It’s important for us to be aware of the current trends and important industry news, and we do a really good job of that. But, our mission is to make all athletes better, and to achieve this, we focus on watching athletes closely. We watch how today’s athletes — who we call the new prototype athletes — are evolving. We listen to them to better understand their performance needs. Understanding their needs is what inspires our innovation and drives us to keep redefining our brand. We’ll write the next chapter in the Under Armour story by using what we learn from athletes to find new ways to use technology and science to advance our innovation.

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2. Sports business story you are watching most closely?
China hosting its first Olympic Games is a monumental moment in sports history. We are watching closely, we’re listening and we’re learning about a market that represents a tremendous growth opportunity for Under Armour.

3. The most interesting observation you’ve had from the Beijing Games is...?
This is our fourth time in China this year, but even now Beijing is a different city than it was just eight weeks ago. As large of a platform as these Olympic Games are, as much as they mean to people here, China is sending a message to rest of the world, and it all comes down to every single citizen working together and being on the same page to make this a success.

4. The best advice you’ve ever received is...?
When I was still trying to get trademarks on the product and the name of my idea for a superior T-shirt, I would tell people that I was working on something big. During this process, I was once told not to worry about filing out the court paperwork and to simply “make a great product and do it better than anyone else.” To this day, that advice has been my inspiration to continually reinvent the athletic performance category. I now tell my team at Under Armour to build a great product and tell a great story.

5. My management style is...?
I was still on the University of Maryland football team when I started the company and the way I manage the company is very team driven. Under Armour is one team and my job is to help ensure we operate and execute as one team. Because there’s a lot of noise and clutter surrounding our brand, I try to simplify our story and objectives for the team to help keep everyone running on the same wavelength and working towards the same goal: To become the world’s number one performance athletic brand.