But in Wilson’s eyes, the company’s safety-first approach resulted in a half-decade of stagnation and its recent growth should have been built on a greater base. His 13 percent stake gives him the right to nominate one director, according to the company’s 2018 proxy. And the term of his current nominee, Kathryn Henry, expires next year.

Wall Street is leery of any return, with memories still fresh of the disruption Wilson inflicted on Lululemon when he was chairman, including clashing with then-CEO Christine Day and a November 2013 interview with Bloomberg News, in which he said Lululemon’s pants “don’t work for some women’s bodies."

Wilson apologized, stepped down as chairman a month later, then threatened a boardroom fight and sold half his stake in 2014 before resigning in 2015.

“He’s proven to be a highly volatile board member and created a level of disruption that I haven’t seen at retail companies of similar size," said Matthew McClintock, a Barclays Plc analyst who credits current management for turning around the firm and has a price target of $200 on Lululemon’s stock. “Chip is great as an entrepreneur. You need a completely different skill set to run Lululemon at the size it is now.”

Creative People

Wilson shrugs off the criticism, arguing such a mind-set misses future opportunities. “Metric-driven people are nervous of creative people,” he said. “Creative people can’t prove the future, but metric people can prove the past."

He says he was devastated by the fallout of the 2013 interview and took three years to recover. But he’s returning to public life on the offensive.

His reluctance to step away entirely from Lululemon is characteristic of many entrepreneurs. “Here’s a guy who has got more money than he’ll ever be able to spend, but his real identity is still fused with this apparel company that he started," said Mark Lipton, an author and professor of management at the New School.

Even if he doesn’t return to Lululemon, he’s got plenty to keep him busy. His holding company, Hold It All Inc., manages his family’s investments, real estate and has a private equity unit as well as a philanthropic arm.

Vancouver Mansion