Lululemon has promoted two members of its senior leadership team to executive vice presidents within the company. Susan Gelinas is the new chief people & culture officer, and Shannon Higginson now serves as chief legal and compliance officer.
Gelinas joined the company in 2011 and has steadily expanded her responsibilities to lead the global people & culture organization through a transformational period in which the company grew from about 5,000 employees, primarily in North America in 2011, to more than 30,000 employees around the world today. At Lululemon, she held the roles of senior vice president, people & culture; vice president, health & wealth; and director, health & wealth. Prior to joining the company, she was a senior consultant at Towers Watson.
Higginson joined the Vancouver-based company in 2011 as one of two members of Lululemon’s legal team and most recently served as senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer. Today, she is responsible for legal affairs and compliance globally and leads a team of nearly 60 people. Prior to joining Lululemon, Higginson was senior counsel at Canadian telecommunications company Telus and previously worked as an associate at a Vancouver law firm.
In addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, Gelinas and Higginson have been instrumental in developing and scaling initiatives that support Lululemon’s employees, patrons and communities. These include the company’s commitment to equal pay, the launch of the Parenthood program, and the establishment of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) commitments.
