Brands
LinkedIn names Daniel Shapero CEO as Microsoft doubles down on AI shift
Ryan Roslansky will continue his role Microsoft AI role as LinkedIn bets on insider leadership.
CALIFORNIA: Microsoft has appointed Daniel Shapero as the new chief executive of LinkedIn, marking a key leadership shift as the company sharpens its focus on artificial intelligence.
Shapero, a long-time insider who joined LinkedIn in 2008, steps up from his role as chief operating officer. He succeeds Ryan Roslansky, who will continue within Microsoft to work on AI-led productivity initiatives, reporting to Satya Nadella.
The move signals more of a strategic reshuffle than a traditional leadership exit. Roslansky, who led LinkedIn for six years and oversaw a near doubling of its user base to 1.3 billion, will now help integrate AI capabilities across Microsoft’s core productivity ecosystem, including its Office suite.
For LinkedIn, the choice of Shapero reflects continuity. Often described as “employee 300-ish”, he has spent nearly two decades across the company’s key functions, from sales and marketing to product and operations. As chief operating officer since 2021, he has been closely involved in scaling the platform’s business, including growth in premium subscriptions and advertising.
In his first message as CEO, Shapero emphasised LinkedIn’s core mission of driving economic opportunity, noting that the rise of AI makes that mission even more critical. He signalled a leadership approach focused on listening and learning, while preparing professionals to navigate rapid technological change.
The timing is telling. LinkedIn currently sits at a strong inflection point, with annual revenue estimated at around $19 billion and continued double-digit growth driven by AI-powered tools and advertising solutions. Microsoft’s broader strategy appears to position LinkedIn and its productivity suite as twin pillars of the modern workplace.
With Roslansky shaping AI strategy at the parent level and Shapero steering LinkedIn’s next chapter, the transition sets the stage for a deeper integration of generative AI into how professionals connect, learn and work.
The Roslansky era was about scale. The Shapero chapter now begins with a different brief: make AI central to the future of work.
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.
