2017 Professional Achievement Award

Talk about your perfect marriage!

As vice president and corporate controller for Under Armour Inc., Andrew Page, ’92, is joining two of his greatest passions: accounting and sports.

But just as strange twists of fate sometimes bring couples together, it almost didn’t happen for Mr. Page. Athletic scholarship in hand, the Washington, D.C.-area native came to Eastern to run track and pursue a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.

Despite doing “pretty well” in his core courses, Mr. Page realized during his sophomore year that he wasn’t “all in” with his physics major. His roommate at the time was an accounting major, and by the following fall, Mr. Page was sitting in the classrooms of Dr. Jack Dyer and others, falling for a new flame. Those accounting classes, he said, “taught me to love the profession.”

Today, Mr. Page has overall responsibility for the controllership and financial reporting activities for a global leader in performance apparel, footwear, and accessories, whose global annual revenue approaches $5 billion. His responsibilities at Under Armour also include oversight of the company’s equity plans, mergers and acquisitions, and systems of internal controls.

When he returned to EKU in February 2017 as part of the College of Business and Technology Distinguished Speaker Series, Mr. Page, who also earned an MBA degree from Georgetown University, offered the same advice he gives his own children: “Don’t be scared to be great. Be humble, but stay hungry.”

Under Armour has grown quickly since its founding in 1996, relishing its dark horse status against more established brands. The way Mr. Page sees it, if the Under Armour shoe fits, wear it proudly. “If you’re winning and you have an underdog mentality, you’ll continue to thrive,” he said.

He’s that same high-energy, positive-thinking person whether he’s sporting a suit in his Under Armour office or clad in sweats helping to coach track at his old high school. “When I go to track practice highly motivated, it gets the kids energized to practice hard,” Mr. Page, who resides in Bowie, Maryland, with his wife, Carla, and their five children, told Profile magazine. “I try to come into the office highly motivated as well, so it’s easy for my teammates to feel the energy and use it for themselves and push it to the rest of their teams.”

Originally published in EKU Alumni Award.