Heidi O'Neill Hired a Product Chief Before Chip Wilson Got His Product Director
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Heidi O'Neill hired a product chief before Chip Wilson got his product director.
Lululemon hired O'Neill from Nike. She started September 8.
Wilson, the founder holding 8.6%, wrote in April that the board lacked the brand and product support the next CEO would need. In the May agreement, a third new director with apparel product and brand expertise was due to start October 1.
October 1 passed. Both sides extended the deadline. No reason. No new date.
On October 7, O’Neill hired Maggie Gauger from Athleta as President and Chief Product Officer, a new role. The contract is dated September 30, the day Bloomberg reported the extension.
O'Neill defined product expertise as Gauger's more than two decades at Nike.
Athleta's net sales fell 12% in each of the last two quarters, to August 1. Americas comparable sales fell 12% in the quarter ended August 2, and Lululemon guided this quarter's revenue down 10% to 11%. Those numbers predate O'Neill.
The agreement requires O'Neill, the Executive Chair and two directors to meet Wilson at least quarterly. Marti Morfitt returned to non-executive chair in June.
We weigh O'Neill on three dimensions:
1. Fit: consumer, product and brand at Nike, including a final year, fiscal 2025, when Nike revenue fell 10%.
2. Influence: Wilson has a meeting and an approval right, no seat.
3. Accountability: the seat built to check her sits empty, undated. Capital allocation as a CEO is untested; operational discipline and vision are open.
If the third seat is still empty at the Q3 call, is it worth filling, or has Gauger's hire made it a formality?
🔗 Source: Lululemon Puts Nike Veteran in Charge of Product as CEO O'Neill Looks to Right Ship
