Brands
RuPay becomes title sponsor for Pro Volleyball League
MUMBAI: RuPay, the flagship product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), acquired the title sponsorship rights of India’s newest franchise-based sports league, the Pro Volleyball League, which is set to start on 2 February.
Conceived to fulfil the vision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of offering a domestic card payment system to all banks and financial institutions in India, RuPay will be the league’s title sponsor that takes off with six franchises from six different cities.
An initiative of Baseline Ventures and Volleyball Federation of India, the league will now be called the RuPay Pro Volleyball League in its first season. Expressing his delight on this association, RuPay SVP – marketing Kunal Kalawatia said, “RuPay is the preferred card for 60 crore Indians and 1100+ banks issue a RuPay Card today. Like RuPay powering the digital payments initiative, we believe that Pro Volleyball league will bring this sport to the forefront and connect the nation with a common spirit. With RuPay Pro Volley Ball League we want to celebrate the power of a young & healthy India.”
The inaugural edition of the league will begin with Kochi Blue Spikers taking on U Mumba Volley on 2 February at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Kochi. The six teams that were announced in November 2018 will play each other in a round robin format in the first season that will have 18 matches.
Talking about the development, Baseline Ventures co-founder and MD Tuhin Mishra said, “We are delighted to have RuPay come on board as the title sponsor of the league. It is great to see that RuPay has invested in a sport that is fast-paced, exciting and perfectly matched for our young and dynamic nation. The Pro Volleyball League aims to start a volleyball revolution to match the digital India revolution that RuPay is leading. And to help us in this endeavour, we couldn’t have found better partners than RuPay.”
Welcoming RuPay on board, former India international player and Volleyball Federation of India current Secretary General Ramavtar Singh Jakhar said, “We wholeheartedly welcome RuPay on board of PVL. It’s heartening to see such a prestigious brand which is also the pride of our Nation to support a truly grassroot mass sport such as Volleyball. We are sure it will be a great association.”
Ahmedabad Defenders is owned by Bonhomie Sports Event Mgmt. Ltd., Kerala's Calicut Heroes is owned by Beacon Sports while the Chennai Spartans is owned by Chennai Spartans Pvt. Ltd. U Mumba Volley is owned by U Sports, who also own a team in the Kabaddi league while Black Hawks Hyderabad is owned by Agile Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Thomas Muthoot owns the Kochi franchise called the Kochi Blue Spikers.
All the matches starting from 2 February will be broadcasted live on Sony Six and Sony Ten 3 and will be streamed live on Sony LIV.
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.
