Kevin Plank
Kevin Audette Plank (born August 13, 1972) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Plank is the founder and executive chairman of Under Armour, a manufacturer of sportswear, footwear and accessories, based in Baltimore, Maryland. He served as CEO from its founding until 2020 and will be returning as CEO as of April 2024.[1] As of April 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$1.1 billion.[2]
Kevin Plank
August 13, 1972
Founder and executive chairman, Under Armour
Desiree "D.J." Guerzon
2
Early life
Plank, a Roman Catholic,[3] grew up in Kensington, Maryland, a suburb outside of Washington D.C., the youngest of five brothers born to William and Jayne (née Harper) Plank.[4][5] His father was a prominent Maryland land developer. His mother is a former mayor of Kensington, who went on to direct the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the United States Department of State under President Ronald Reagan.[6]
Plank grew up playing youth football with the Maplewood Sports Association; a Maplewood team has appeared in Under Armour commercials.[4][7] He left the prestigious Georgetown Preparatory School, a Catholic school, due to poor academic performance and behavioral issues,[8][9] then went on to graduate from another Catholic school, St. John's College High School, in 1990.[8][10] Afterward, he played football at Fork Union Military Academy for a year, trying to get the attention of NCAA Division I schools.[10][11] He was not recruited by the top-tier collegiate football programs.[11]
However, he went to University of Maryland, College Park and walked onto the team there.[11] He graduated in 1996[4][12] with a bachelor's degree in business administration.[13]
His roommate at Maryland was football player and professional wrestler Darren Drozdov. Following a 1999 in-ring accident which left Drozdov quadriplegic, Plank personally financed his customized wheelchair.[14]
Philanthropy
Baltimore
Plank donated $1 million through The Cupid Foundation to the Baltimore-based CollegeBound in 2016.[47] The next year, his charitable arm funded 40 summer jobs for Cherry Hill, Baltimore, public school students in the maritime transport industry.[48]
Plank is also active within the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., communities, as a member of the Greater Baltimore Committee[49] and Greater Washington Partnership.[50] He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Living Classrooms, a Baltimore-Washington based non-profit organization dedicated to the hands-on education of young people using urban, natural and maritime environments as “living classrooms".[51] Through his Cupid Foundation, Plank donated $5 million to help create the UA House at Fayette, an East Baltimore community center run by Living Classrooms.[52]
Entrepreneurship
Plank has been a long-time supporter of the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. In addition to sitting on the University's Board of Trustees, he played an integral role in the development of an endowment fund that the Dingman Center uses to invest in viable startup businesses.[53] He is also responsible for the development of the Cupid's Cup business competition. The competition got its name from his “Cupid's Valentine” rose business he began while attending the University.[54]
School giving
Plank has donated $25 million to the University of Maryland to be used for the proposed athletics and academic complex.[55] The project has converted Cole Field House, the school's former basketball arena, into the football facility, a sports medicine center and student entrepreneurship lab.[55] In 2015, Plank donated $16 million to St. John's College High School in Washington, DC, to fund athletics, academics and entrepreneurship initiatives.[56] Plank donated $1 million to the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2016 to help 100 more children go to Catholic school.[3]