London-based cycling apparel brand Rapha has seen the departure of its Chief Executive Officer, Fran Millar, following a two-year tenure leading the business.
In a statement published on social media, Fran Millar explained that her vision and strategy for the brand are in place and that “the path ahead for the brand is clear”.
Fran Millar wrote “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.”
Fran Millar joined Rapha as CEO in 2024. Previously, she served as CEO of Belstaff, where she was appointed in 2020 to execute a corporate turnaround. Under her guidance, Belstaff recovered from an annual loss of £20 million in 2019 to break even in 2024.
Her arrival at Rapha came as the international apparel brand sought to address repeating financial losses.
Financial disclosures for the period ending January 2025 showed that Rapha recorded revenues of £96.2 million alongside a net loss of £15.6 million. This marked the eighth consecutive year of net losses for the business.
Addressing the performance at the time, Chief Financial Officer, Michelle Woolaghan, explained that the ongoing net losses were primarily linked to amortisation costs associated with the depreciation of goodwill and tangible assets following the company’s acquisition by Steuart Walton and Tom Walton in 2017.
During her tenure, Fran Millar targeted operational improvements to return the brand to financial sustainability. This included a strategy to reduce reliance on promotional sales and discounting.
She also initiated several high-profile shifts in Rapha’s marketing and sports partnership strategy. Notably, the company ended its seven-year sponsorship arrangement with WorldTour outfit EF Pro Cycling, with Fran Millar noting that the partnership had ‘gotten tired’.
In a bid to broaden its international reach, Rapha established a new official partnership with governing body USA Cycling.
Reflecting on her departure, Fran Millar added “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.”
The departure follows earlier industry commentary from Fran Millar on April 30th, 2026, when Rapha reissued its cycling strategy document, ‘The Rapha Roadmap’. Released to coincide with a UCI consultation deadline on the future of professional road racing, Fran Millar stated in a new foreword that professional cycling “has been failed structurally and commercially”.
Rapha has not yet commented publicly on the departure or announced who will take over the Chief Executive Officer role.
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