Brands
PepsiCo India names Rinkesh Satija as VP, supply chain ops India & South Asia
Seasoned operations leader takes charge of India and South Asia
MUMBAI: Rinkesh Satija has been elevated to vice president – supply chain operations, India and South Asia at PepsiCo, stepping into a role that puts him at the helm of the end to end supply chain for the company’s foods business across India and three other countries.
In his expanded mandate, Satija will oversee agri sourcing, supply chain planning, manufacturing, logistics, capacity expansion, quality and food safety, environment, health and safety, as well as continuous improvement. He will also drive digital transformation initiatives while advancing PepsiCo’s pep plus sustainability agenda.
With over 13 years at PepsiCo, Satija has steadily moved up the ranks. Most recently, as senior director – supply chain, foods operations for the India region, he led integrated operations across sourcing, planning, manufacturing and warehousing. Earlier, as director – supply chain for logistics, distribution and transportation, he spearheaded network optimisation efforts and strengthened integrated planning systems during the pandemic to ensure business continuity.
Beyond operational efficiency, Satija has been a strong advocate for productivity acceleration, people development and embedding sustainability into everyday business processes.
Sharing his thoughts at the PepsiCo presents voices of harvest awards, powered by Lay’s, he said he was delighted to be part of a platform celebrating partnerships that give purpose to business. Calling PepsiCo “an agri company at heart”, he reiterated the company’s commitment to farmers and communities through its partnership of progress. He is set to join a panel discussion titled seeding change – creating the ecosystem for transformation, focusing on how collaboration can create lasting impact.
Satija also serves as an independent director at IITI Drishti CPS Foundation, a technology innovation hub at IIT Indore under the national mission on interdisciplinary cyber physical systems, reflecting his interest in the intersection of industry and digital innovation.
An engineer by training, with a mechanical engineering degree from Rajasthan Technical University and a postgraduate diploma in business administration from Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning, Satija began his career at Haldia Petrochemicals and Larsen and Toubro before moving into senior leadership roles at Akzo Nobel India.
From factory floors to boardrooms, his journey has been shaped by scale, systems and sustainability. Now, with a wider regional brief at PepsiCo, the focus shifts to making the supply chain not just faster and leaner, but smarter and greener too.
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.
