Lululemon, the yoga pants and athletic clothing company, has hired a former executive from a rival, Nike, as its new chief executive officer (CEO).
Ms Heidi O’Neill, who spent more than 25 years at Nike, will take the reins and join Lululemon’s board of directors on Sept 8, the company announced on April 22.
The leadership change is happening during a tumultuous time for Lululemon, which had grown to US$11 billion (S$14 billion) in revenue by persuading shoppers to ditch their jeans and slacks for stretchy leggings.
But lately, sales have declined in North America amid intense competition and shifting fashion trends, with consumers favouring looser styles rather than the form-fitting silhouettes for which Lululemon is best known.
“As I step into the CEO role in September, my job will be to build on that foundation – to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world,” Ms O’Neill, 61, said in a statement.
Lululemon, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has also been entangled in a corporate power struggle over the company’s future. Its billionaire founder Chip Wilson has feuded with the board, nominated independent directors and criticised executives.
Lululemon’s previous CEO Calvin McDonald stepped down at the end of January as pressure mounted from Mr Wilson and some investors. One activist investor, Elliott Investment Management, had pushed its own CEO candidate, who was not selected.
The interim co-CEOs Meghan Frank and Andre Maestrini will lead the company until Ms O’Neill’s arrival, when they are expected to return to other senior roles. The pair had outlined a plan to revive sales at Lululemon, promising to invest in stores, save more money and speed up product development.
“We start the year with a real plan, with real strategies,” Mr Maestrini said in an interview in 2026. “We make sure decisions are made fast.”
Lululemon said in March that it would add former Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh to its board to replace Mr David Mussafer, the chair of private equity firm Advent International, whom Mr Wilson had sought to remove.
Ms O’Neill climbed the organisational chart at Nike for decades, working across divisions including consumer sports, product innovation and brand marketing, and was most recently its president of consumer, product and brand. She left Nike in 2025 amid a shake-up of senior management that led to the elimination of her role.
Analysts said Ms O’Neill would be expected to find ways to energise Lululemon’s business and reset the company’s culture in order to improve performance.
“O’Neill is her own person who will come with an agenda of change,” said Mr Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData, a data analytics and consulting company.
“The task ahead is a significant one, but it can be undertaken from a position of relative stability.” NYTIMES
