Lululemon $LULU named Heidi O'Neill its next CEO following a search by its board of directors, tapping a veteran of Nike $NKE to lead the athletic apparel company through a period of slowing growth and investor pressure.
Her most recent position at Nike was president of consumer, product and brand, with responsibility spanning global product development, brand strategy, and marketing. During her more than two-decade career at Nike, the company's revenue expanded dramatically, scaling into a global brand worth tens of billions of dollars. Earlier in her career, she held a marketing role focused on the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss & Co., and she currently sits on the boards of Spotify $SPOT Technology, Hyatt Hotels $H, and Lithia & Driveway.
O'Neill will start on Sept. 8 and will be based in Vancouver, the company said. Her base salary will be $1.4 million, according to CNBC.
Until O'Neill formally takes the helm, co-CEOs Meghan Frank and André Maestrini are holding down the business, and Lululemon said both executives are expected to resume their prior senior roles once she arrives.
"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," O'Neill said in a statement. "As I step into the CEO role in September, my job will be to build on that foundation — to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand's cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world."
Lululemon stock fell more than 5% in extended trading following the announcement. The stock had dropped more than 21% so far this year as of Wednesday's close, according to Fortune.
O'Neill steps into the role at a difficult moment: the company has flagged $380 million in expected tariff costs for the year, according to CNBC, while also facing sluggish demand and intensifying rivalry from competitors. Adding to the pressure, activist firm Elliott Investment Management has amassed a position valued at over $1 billion in Lululemon's shares, according to Fortune, while Wilson — who retains a major ownership stake despite holding no formal company role — has publicly agitated for board-level changes.
Her Nike record carries some baggage, according to CNBC: she was a key figure in the brand's ill-fated shift toward selling directly to consumers — a move that Elliott Hill, now running Nike, has prioritized unwinding — and her watch over product and innovation coincided with widespread criticism that the company had grown too dependent on a handful of classic sneaker styles.
According to Fortune, Calvin McDonald's $MCD eight-year run at the top of Lululemon came to an end in January, when he exited the CEO position.