Brands
PeakAmp names Aditya Prakash and Akhil Yerawar as co-founders
Leadership expansion sharpens focus on India’s battery circular economy
GURUGRAM: PeakAmp, a young company tackling one of the electric vehicle sector’s messiest problems, has strengthened its leadership bench with two co-founder appointments as it gears up to scale its battery recycling ambitions.
The company has elevated Aditya Prakash to co-founder and appointed Akhil Yerawar as co-founder and chief strategy officer, signalling a sharper push towards building what it calls India’s most trusted end-of-life battery management platform.
Founded in 2024 by Vijay Gond and Aditya Sudhanshu, PeakAmp is developing a full-stack, technology-led system to collect, sort and recycle lithium-ion batteries. Its model spans everything from safe collection and segregation to second-life repurposing and high-purity material recovery. The goal is simple in theory but complex in practice: ensure that yesterday’s EV batteries power tomorrow’s progress instead of piling up as hazardous waste.
Yerawar, an IIM Raipur gold medallist with over a decade of experience across green energy, consulting, banking and consumer sectors, will steer strategic growth, investor relations, government partnerships and the commercial roadmap for second-life battery applications. His brief is to ensure the business scales in step with India’s rapidly expanding EV market.
Prakash, who has been part of PeakAmp’s journey from the early days, brings hands-on experience in battery recycling operations, circular supply chains and sustainability initiatives. As co-founder, he will oversee overall strategy and operations, focusing on expanding supply-chain networks, strengthening ecosystem partnerships and driving operational rigour across the battery lifecycle.
“I’m excited to step into this role at a pivotal time for both PeakAmp and India’s EV ecosystem,” said Prakash. “As electric mobility scales, reliable and compliant after-life solutions for batteries become essential. Our focus is to ensure every end-of-life battery is channelled back into productive use.”
Yerawar added, “India’s clean energy transition will only succeed if circular solutions keep pace with growth. By combining disciplined execution with commercially viable models, we aim to scale alongside the country’s EV momentum.”
India’s EV market is expected to expand rapidly over the next decade, bringing with it a wave of spent batteries. Industry estimates suggest recycling capacity may struggle to keep up with future demand. PeakAmp believes its integrated model, which includes diagnostics-led second-life deployment and material recovery of more than 99 per cent purity, can help close that gap.
With a broader founding team now in place, the company plans to deepen partnerships with OEMs, mobility operators and battery manufacturers, while investing further in technology for traceability, compliance and efficient resource recovery.
In a sector where power is everything, PeakAmp is betting that stronger leadership will keep the current flowing.
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.
