Kevin Plank, the founder and chief executive of Under Armour, is the latest high-profile leader of a major American company to leave President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council.
In a statement tweeted out late on Monday, Plank wrote, “Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics.”
Plank’s full statement is below. In it, he tweets “I love our country & company. I am stepping down from the council to focus on inspiring & uniting through power of sport.”
I love our country & company. I am stepping down from the council to focus on inspiring & uniting through power of sport. – CEO Kevin Plank pic.twitter.com/8YvndJMjj1
— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) August 15, 2017
He joins Merck Pharma’s chief executive Kenneth Frazier, who announced his departure from the president’s council in a statement earlier today.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
— Merck (@Merck) August 14, 2017
Both departures come as a rebuke to what many have called the president’s inadequate response to the violence over the weekend. One person, Heather Heyer, was killed on Saturday and another 19 people were injured during a counter-protest in Charlottesville, VA against a rally by neo-Nazis and members of the Ku Klux Klan and its various splinter groups.
Saturday’s violence was sparked by the planned Nazi rally to protest the removal of a statue of confederate general Robert E. Lee from a park near the city’s downtown.
There’s been no response yet from the president to the latest departure. When Frazier announced his withdrawal, the president immediately responded on his social network of choice.
Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council,he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2017
While Plank and Frazier are gone, several executives still remain involved with the Council; they include Andy Liveris from Dow Chemical, Michael Dell of Dell Technologies, Jeff Immelt of General Electric, Denise Morrison of Campbell’s Soup Co. and Dennis Muilenberg of Boeing.
An earlier decision from the president to reject the Paris Accords and its global compact to address climate change prompted the departure of tech’s favorite chief executive, Elon Musk.
At the time Musk tweeted, “Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”
