Brands
Motilal Oswal elevates marketing maven Mundra to group media head
MUMBAI: Financial services giant Motilal Oswal has promoted Varun Mundra to group head of media and innovations, capping the digital-first marketer’s swift rise through the company’s marketing ranks.
Mundra, who joined the firm less than three years ago, steps up from his previous role as senior vice president of marketing for the wealth management division, where he spearheaded brand growth and product excellence initiatives for India’s seventh-largest broking house.
“The journey has been nothing short of amazing—filled with learnings, challenges, and some big wins along the way,” Mundra said of his time at Motilal Oswal. He credited senior leadership, including Sandeep Walunj, for their “trust and support” in his ascent.
The ET Brand Equity Shark 2024 “Rising Star” winner brings a distinctive pedigree to the role, having cut his teeth at several top-flight advertising agencies. Before joining Motilal Oswal in 2022, Mundra served as director of business and client relations at The Glitch, where he managed campaigns for CoinSwitch, Kuber, SleepyCat and Netflix India.
His résumé includes stints at White Rivers Media, Isobar, Jack in the Box Worldwide and Dentsu Webchutney, where he honed his craft working with blue-chip clients like Hindustan Unilever, Visa India, CEAT Tyres and Godrej.
Industry observers note that Mundra’s promotion coincides with Motilal Oswal’s aggressive push to modernise its marketing approach and capture India’s digitally-savvy retail investor community.
The marketing executive’s previous initiatives at the firm included securing branding rights to Mumbai’s Malad Metro Station—establishing “Motilal Oswal Malad West”—and creating branded studio partnerships with financial news channels CNBCTV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar.
Mundra’s entrepreneurial spirit emerged early when, as a 17-year-old college student, he founded a digital agency that landed him features on CNBCTV18’s Young Turks and in The Times of India. He holds degrees from the University of Westminster and Coventry University London.
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.
