Patrik Frisk, a former executive, and often president, of leading global retailers including Under Armour, Timberland, Aldo, and The North Face, offered retail industry career advice to Corporate Retail Seminar students at the Grossman School of Business (GSB) on February 27. The event kicked off with a luncheon with students of the Corporate Retail Seminar taught by Marian Fritz before opening up to a presentation and networking opportunities for all UVM students. 

Patrik encouraged seminar students to follow their passion, learn from their successes and failures, and gain experiences that will contribute to their careers. Talking with the larger group in the Keller Room, he discussed his own career path, noting that he did not attend college, but went from high school into the Swedish military, where he discovered he had natural leadership skills. He also shared his experience with two entrepreneurial endeavors, one of which failed terribly but which taught him much.  

Additionally, Patrik talked about the evolution of retailing, where the consumer is more powerful than ever in dictating what products will succeed and how they will be sold. He also discussed his philosophy on slow and sustainable growth compared to rocketing growth.  

Patrik left Under Armour in June 2022 and is now focused on sustainability efforts of the clothing industry, talking about his "circularity model" of recycling more fiber rather than filling landfills or burning cast-off clothes. In 2021, he received the Sporting Goods Industry Leader of the Year Award, citing his leadership of Under Armour through the pandemic and his collaborative efforts with other companies.  

The event was part of the Kalkin Retailing Initiative, an endowment established by Eugene and Joan Kalkin to support academic and professional development of GSB students in the area of retailing. Eugene Kalkin had a long and distinguished career in retailing, most notably as the innovative founder of the highly successful chain Linens ‘n Things. The Initiative features academic and professional activities, ranging from networking, scholarship and experiential opportunities, to new and expanded courses, as well as guest speakers like Patrik, whose son David was on the UVM ski team and graduated in 2022.