Unilever Plc’s Indian unit has named Rohit Jawa as chief executive to replace Sanjiv Mehta, who will retire after almost a decade at the helm.
(Bloomberg) — Unilever Plc’s Indian unit has named Rohit Jawa as chief executive to replace Sanjiv Mehta, who will retire after almost a decade at the helm.
Jawa, 56, will join Mumbai-based Hindustan Unilever Ltd. as CEO designate and whole-time director from April 1 before taking over as MD and CEO from June 27 for five years, the company said in an exchange filing. Currently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever in London, Jawa will also be president of Unilever South Asia and will join the Unilever Leadership Executive.
Jawa is set to take charge at a time when competition in the Indian consumer segment is getting fierce with billionaires Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and the Tata Group pumping billions to expand in the sector. Unilever credited Jawa, who started as a management trainee with the company in 1988, for successfully orchestrating a “once-in-a-decade” transformation and helping make Unilever China the firm’s third biggest business globally.
Under Mehta, who was appointed Hindustan Unilever CEO in 2013, the company’s market capitalization more than quadrupled to $75 billion while sales nearly doubled. He also helmed 14 acquisitions for the company, including the GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare deal, one of the biggest in India’s consumer goods segment.
–With assistance from Ashutosh Joshi and Shwetha Sunil.
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