Brands
Anime meets cricket as Crunchyroll backs Proteas
MUMBAI: Cricket just got an animated twist as Cricket South Africa has brought Crunchyroll on board as associate team sponsor for the Proteas Men’s series in India, running from 14 November to 19 December.
The partnership places Crunchyroll’s branding on the team’s jerseys across all formats, including Test, ODI and T20 matches. For Crunchyroll, it marks a bold step into global sport, placing the anime platform front and centre in one of world cricket’s most-watched tours.
The association highlights how anime and cricket share a spirited fandom powered by emotion, drama and storytelling, creating a cultural bridge between India, South Africa and a rapidly growing global audience.
CSA chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki said, “CSA takes pride in welcoming Crunchyroll as the official team sponsor for the upcoming India series. With anime becoming one of the world’s most dominant entertainment forces, soon to have over a billion viewers, we see this partnership as a celebration of shared values and a drive to connect with global audiences.”
Crunchyroll senior vice president, growth and planning Kartik Gandhi added, “We’re thrilled to partner with Cricket South Africa for this exciting series with India. Cricket and anime both capture the intensity of competition and the joy of shared fandom. This partnership strengthens our ongoing focus on bringing together the worlds of sports and anime, combining the spirit of anime with cricket across two dynamic markets with growing anime fandoms: India and South Africa.”
As the Proteas prepare for a high-voltage tour, their jerseys will carry a fresh pop of culture, proving that on this field, passion plays well across languages, nations and genres.
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.
