Fran Millar has left Rapha as CEO after two years at the cycling clothing brand, warning of “significant operational changes” to come.
First reported by Escape Collective early on Wednesday, the news was confirmed by the now-former CEO herself in an Instagram post. Rapha is yet to comment.
Millar suggested in her post that her “vision and strategy” remained in place, with Escape reporting that employees had been told that her five-year plan would continue. She was appointed in September 2024, after a career which had seen her work as CEO of British clothing brand Belstaff, which was owned by Ineos CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe at the time, and previously in charge of Team Ineos in cycling.
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Last October, Rapha revealed financial losses for the eighth year in a row, but Millar said there was no need for alarm bells. The company’s accounts showed an operating loss of £17.2m. This is a slight improvement on the previous year, when the operating loss totalled £21.2m. In the same accounts, the directors reduced the company’s value by £102m.
“After two bonkers and brilliant years, I’ve decided to leave Rapha,” Millar wrote on Wednesday. “The vision and strategy I set are in place, and the path ahead for the brand is clear. What remains is delivery.
“To support that, the business will make significant organisational changes to reduce cost and drive efficiency, and those changes call for a different governance and leadership structure. With that in mind, I proposed to the board that I step down as CEO.
“I am incredibly proud of the passionate, loyal, committed people who work at Rapha across the world and it has been a joy to lead them for two years.
“All that remains to say is THANK YOU to our team, our members, our customers and the brand. It’s been an honour.”
A large part of Rapha’s annual losses stems from an amortisation, which is responsible for around £10m of losses a year. “It’s an accounting adjustment,” Michelle Woolaghan, Rapha’s chief financial officer, explained last year.
Last year, Rapha announced it was parting ways with EF Pro Cycling’s men’s and women’s teams after seven years, but signed a new partnership with the USA national team from 2026 to 2029. At the beginning of the year, Rapha closed five of its Clubhouses across the USA and the UK; Millar called it a “painful decision” but the “right call” at the time.
It’s understood that Millar’s strategy included reducing Rapha’s range of clothing and slowing discounting on products, which peaked after the Covid pandemic.
The company is owned by brothers Steuart and Tom Walton, the grandchildren of the billionaire founders of the retail giant Walmart.
