Brands
Vodafone & WhatsApp take local language initiative
MUMBAI: One of the leading telecom operators is looking to promote and educate customers about the local language features and has rolled out an animated step-by-step approach to handhold customers.
Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, together with WhatsApp is happy to educate millions of users to use the app in local India languages. Vodafone is one of the first operators to start such an initiative and aims to empower its consumers to connect with each other in a language of their preference.
Today, WhatsApp is available in more than 50 different languages around the world. The app currently has over 200 million monthly active users in India, using 10 Indian languages.
To drive the adoption of the newly introduced local language feature on WhatsApp, Vodafone has built customized pages in various Indian languages (Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil among others). The interface on the page is built with an animated step-by-step approach displaying the option of changing to different Indian languages while chatting. This makes setting up the local language option for WhatsApp on Vodafone a simple matter of a few clicks. Updating status, chatting or even sharing messages in the language of the customer’s choice is possible. With a simple click, consumers can even install WhatsApp.
Vodafone India chief commercial officer Sandeep Kataria said, “We see it as a big step towards empowering the next one billion internet users. It is also in keeping with our philosophy of connecting for good. We believe that local language support is a clear area of focus for us, and we see this campaign with WhatsApp as a step in the right direction.”
“Together with Vodafone, we want to make communication more accessible and convenient in India,” says WhatsApp vice president Neeraj Arora. “People can easily use WhatsApp in the Indian language of their choice to connect with friends and family anytime and anywhere. Language choice is an important feature for our users and we are happy to stand together with Vodafone on this education initiative that makes messaging on WhatsApp an even better experience.”
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.
