Brands
Arata onboards Taapsee Pannu to launch its hair styling gel
Mumbai: Homegrown personal care and haircare brand Arata has onboarded Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu to promote its advanced curl hair styling gel.
Known for her bold, fierce, and fearless on-screen image, Taapsee embodies Arata’s curl care philosophy, flipping the narrative that censors curlies, the thought process that mandates curly hair to be ‘in place,’ stated the brand.
“Conventional beauty standards are not only restrictive, but they also fail to elevate diversity. The very idea that beauty is defined by a set of adjectives – straight hair, tall, slender, fair, etc. is harmful and excludes most of us who don’t fit the norm,” said Taapsee. “For me, having this curly hair representation – whether on-screen or with the brands I choose to work with, is highly important. I support Arata’s clean, toxin-free approach to personal care.”
“We love how authentic Taapsee is and how she embraces her curls in their true form. We’re delighted to have her on board as Arata’s CurlFriend – someone who advocates for our brand and our new collection’s ethos, in the most befitting manner,” said Arata founders Dhruv Madhok and Dhruv Bhasin.
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.
