Under Armour hires former Estée Lauder executive director to spearhead AI & Analytics division

Sportswear giant Under Armour, Inc. has hired Liz Bacelar, the former executive director of global tech innovation at Estee Lauder, to head its new artificial intelligence and advanced analytics division.

In her new role at Under Armour, Bacelar has been tasked with building a team of data scientists, engineers and AI specialists to integrate generative AI across the company’s operations. Fueling “an era of generative AI” for Under Armour, according to Adweek, Bacelar will be working alongside the company’s CEO Kevin Plank, CTO Danny Miles and VP of data management and analytics Patrick Duroseau to drive “real impact.”

In her most recent role at Estée Lauder, Bacelar led the group’s research and insights team to provide analytic reports and briefings on industry trends, cutting-edge technologies and groundbreaking digital interactions.  In addition, Bacelar was instrumental in shaping Estée Lauder’s entry into the NFT and Metaverse space, pioneering projects such as Clinique’s Metaoptimist NFT.

Leveraging years of experience within the digital space, she developed and executed global innovation challenges, including two AI Ideathons that attracted over 700 participants and a competition within the online sector featuring more than 200 startups. Collaborating with Microsoft, she played a key role in launching an AI Lab and led AI training initiatives for 500 employees across five departments.

Her appointment at Under Armour comes, and more and more brands are investing in gen AI, like Puma, to strengthen customer engagement and streamline operations.