Brands
Crossword powers Jaipur lit fest with a high-energy bookshop comeback
MUMBAI: Crossword Bookstores is returning to the Jaipur Literature Festival as its official bookstore partner, turning the 19th edition of the world-famous literary gathering into a full-throttle retail-and-reader campaign.
The chain will run a pop-up bookshop across the festival grounds, stocking titles by participating writers, festival picks and evergreen classics, alongside signings and reader-meets designed to convert footfall into sales and fandom. Authors scheduled for in-person engagement include Banu Mushtaq, Vir Das, Kiran Desai, Rujuta Diwekar, Javed Akhtar, Gaur Gopal Das and Viswanathan Anand.
“As Jaipur Literature Festival marks its 19th edition, we are proud to once again partner a platform that champions ideas and dialogue at a global scale,” said Crossword Bookstores CEO Aakash Gupta. “It reflects our shared belief in the power of books to spark conversation and connect cultures.”
The 2026 edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival will bring together award-winning authors, thinkers, poets, journalists and debut voices from around the world, with sessions spanning literature, politics, history, science and culture, alongside music and cultural showcases.
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.
