Brands
Wakefit appoints Parul Gupta as chief financial officer
Seasoned finance leader brings experience across telecom, fashion and biotech
BENGALURU: Wakefit has appointed Parul Gupta as chief financial officer, bringing on board a seasoned finance leader with nearly two decades of experience across telecom, e-commerce and biotechnology.
Gupta steps into the role after a brief stint at Syngene International, where she served as head finance for the large molecule business. Before that, she spent over seven years at Myntra, steadily rising through the ranks to become senior director business finance, where she oversaw key areas including supply chain, marketing, customer growth, international brands and omni channel operations.
Her career path reflects a steady climb through high-growth organisations and complex financial environments. At Aircel, she handled corporate controller responsibilities, financial reporting, audits and major systems implementations, while earlier roles at Airtel saw her managing planning, reporting and business analysis across multiple circles.
From telecom towers to fashion carts and biotech labs, Gupta’s journey has been anything but one note. Her appointment at Wakefit signals the company’s intent to strengthen its financial strategy as it continues to scale its presence in India’s fast-evolving home and sleep solutions market.
Colleagues describe her as a finance professional who blends rigour with agility, someone equally comfortable with balance sheets and big-picture growth plans. At Wakefit, she is expected to play a central role in steering financial discipline while supporting the brand’s expansion ambitions.
With Gupta at the helm of its finance function, Wakefit appears to be setting the tone for its next phase of growth, one spreadsheet at a time.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “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,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “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,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
