The Scoop
Under Armour has hired former CNN spokesperson and public relations veteran Matt Dornic to lead its communications shop amid a broader shuffle of its executive team.
In an internal email shared with Semafor on Tuesday, the US fitness brand announced Dornic will serve as the company’s chief communications officer. He will replace Under Armour’s present comms chief Jen Smith, who will instead lead Under Armour’s human resources department; current HR lead Glen Rosen is leaving the company, according to the email.
“Having known Matt for several years, I am confident that his leadership will strengthen our communications function and amplify Under Armour’s voice around the world,” the fitness brand’s CEO Kevin Plank wrote. “Both Jen and Matt bring immense talent, energy, and fresh perspective to their new roles. Their leadership will help drive us forward and strengthen the spirit of partnership across our global community.”
Dornic served as one of CNN’s top spokespeople for years, regularly working the phones with politics and media reporters on high-profile stories. During former CNN president Jeff Zucker’s tenure, the PR specialist was known for occasionally encouraging the network to strike an aggressive tone in its pushback on vocal critics. But Dornic’s time at the network ended abruptly in 2023, when he and several other executives were forced to leave CNN as part of the fallout from an embarrassing Atlantic magazine profile of then CNN CEO Chris Licht.