Brands
Innovartan names Anwar Sheikh head of operations as school push scales
INDIA: Innovartan Technologies has appointed Anwar Sheikh as head of operations, reinforcing its leadership bench as it scales school-integrated, technology-led learning solutions across India’s K–12 education system.
Sheikh brings more than two decades of experience across edtech and school education, with a focus on building outcome-driven learning platforms at scale. At Innovartan, he will oversee end-to-end operations, spanning academic delivery, product execution and platform scalability, as the company deepens partnerships with schools nationwide.
Before joining Innovartan, Sheikh was part of the founding team at Embibe, the Jio-backed edtech firm that raised over $180 million. During its rapid growth phase, he played a central role in shaping academic strategy, product design and operational execution, leading functions across content, learning outcomes and sales operations.
At Embibe, Sheikh helped build AI-led learning platforms serving students and teachers across 36 education boards, localised in 11 Indian languages alongside English. The systems combined text, video, simulations and immersive AR-VR formats, balancing scale with curriculum relevance.
Innovartan Technologies founder and CEO Prashant Sharma, said the appointment comes as operational discipline becomes critical to the company’s next phase of growth. Sheikh said Innovartan’s model addresses a structural gap in school education by delivering competitive readiness from within schools, reducing reliance on external coaching.
Innovartan focuses on embedding diagnostics, personalised learning pathways and exam-readiness tools directly into school systems, aiming to help schools deliver consistent, measurable learning outcomes at scale.
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.
