Lululemon announced that former Nike veteran Heidi O’Neill will take over as the company’s CEO.
This news comes after more than a year of disappointing performance from the athleisure brand and as the company is embroiled in a dramatic proxy battle, with founder Chip Wilson criticising the business.
O’Neill will begin her role as CEO on 8 September 2026.
She has previously held roles at Nike, Levi Strauss, Hyatt Hotels and Spotify.
“The Board conducted an extensive search to identify the right next leader to propel Lululemon forward,” executive chair of Lululemon’s board of directors Marti Morfitt said.
“We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent.”
O’Neill said she plans to build on Lululemon’s existing foundation to deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.
“Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” O’Neill said.
“I look forward to joining the company and helping to define and deliver the organisation’s next chapter of success.”
O’Neill will start with a base salary of US$1.4 million, according to an 8-K filing.
Lululemon has recently suffered from weak sales and increased competition, on top of mounting costs from tariffs.
In its most recent earnings report, the athleisure brand said it expects tariffs to cost the company $380 million this year.
Lululemon’s largest shareholder, Wilson, has also been mounting public pressure on the company to make changes to its board of directors.
According to the Lululemon statement, O’Neill helped boost Nike from a $9 billion company to a $45+ billion global leader.
While at Nike, O’Neill played a key role in the company’s doomed direct-to-consumer sales strategy, where the brand pivoted away from wholesale partners in favor of its own website and stores under former CEO John Donahoe. When current CEO Elliott Hill took over as Nike’s next chief executive, he made it a priority to walk back the direct-selling plan.
Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue to lead as interim co-CEOs until O’Neill joins the company.
