Brands
Accor names Amit Malik VP people and culture for South Asia
Hospitality major taps HR veteran to drive talent and culture agenda
MUMBAI: Accor has appointed Amit Malik as vice president for people and culture in South Asia, strengthening its leadership bench as it scales operations across the region.
Malik will be part of the South Asia leadership team, overseeing the people, talent and culture agenda across India and neighbouring markets. His mandate includes building organisational capabilities, strengthening leadership pipelines and enhancing employee experience across Accor’s growing portfolio.
With more than two decades of experience, Malik brings a blend of human resources expertise and business leadership. His career spans multiple sectors and geographies, equipping him to support Accor’s evolving workforce needs in a dynamic hospitality market.
“We are pleased to welcome Amit to Accor,” said Accor chief executive officer, South Asia Ranju Alex. “His understanding of people strategy and strong business orientation will be instrumental in building a high-performance, purpose-led culture.”
Before joining Accor, Malik served as president for Japan, Asia Pacific and Australia at WadzPay. He also spent several years at Aviva Life Insurance India, where he held senior roles including chief people officer and later chief executive and managing director.
His earlier stints include leadership roles at Bank of America, Royal Bank of Scotland, American Express and GSK Consumer Healthcare, giving him a wide lens on organisational transformation and governance.
Accor’s latest leadership move reflects its focus on building a future-ready workforce as competition intensifies in the hospitality sector. With Malik at the helm of its people strategy, the company is betting on culture as a key driver of growth.
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.
