Lululemon names first chief of AI

Canadian athleisure brand Lululemon has appointed Ranju Das as its first-ever chief AI and technology officer, as it looks to leverage artificial intelligence to improve product innovation and personalise the customer experience.

Das has more than two decades of leadership experience scaling global organisations and driving AI-first innovation in healthcare, financial technology, and consumer technology, and brings with him to Lululemon “deep experience” across enterprise systems, digital innovation and AI and machine learning.

He will join Lululemon on September 2 and will be responsible for leading the company’s technology organisation and driving the development and execution of the next phase of Lululemon’s technology and AI strategy. His role will report directly to chief executive officer, Calvin McDonald.

On the appointment, McDonald said in a statement: “We see an exciting opportunity to further leverage AI and technology to advance our product innovation process, improve our agility and speed to market, and bring more engagement and personalisation to our guest experience.

“Ranju’s breadth of expertise and proven track record of leading large-scale technology and AI transformations make him the ideal individual to drive this work forward at lululemon and take our technology organisation to the next level.”

Das’ experience includes being the chief executive and founder of Swan AI Studios, where he led the development of cutting-edge AI platforms and applications across industries.

Before Swan AI Studios, he served as chief executive of OptumLabs, the research and development arm of UnitedHealth Group, where he led transformative AI and data-driven initiatives across healthcare and insurance verticals, and spent nearly eight years at Amazon as general manager for Amazon AI Services, where he built and scaled some of the company’s key AI offerings.

Commenting on his new role, Das added: “I’m excited to join Lululemon at a pivotal time in the company’s technology transformation journey. The opportunity to leverage technology and AI across the retail value chain to elevate how we serve our guests has never been greater.

“I look forward to working with Lululemon’s teams to advance the company’s data, technology, and AI strategies to drive ongoing growth, operational excellence, best-in-class product, and exceptional guest experiences.”

In addition, Lululemon also announced that its chief information officer, Julie Averill, will depart the company in September as part of a “planned leadership transition to pursue other opportunities”.