The Hindu Business Line : Nitin Paranjpe new Hind Unilever CEO

Changes in management: Mr Harish Manwani, Chairman, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, flanked by Mr Douglas Baillie (left), who is taking over as President, Western Europe, and Mr Nitin Paranjpe, the new Chief Executive Officer, at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

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Mumbai, Feb. 28 Initiating key changes in its management committee, consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday announced that Mr Nitin Paranjpe, Executive Director (Home & Personal Care), would be taking over as Managing Director and CEO of the company.

He will be replacing Mr Douglas Baillie, who will be joining the Unilever Executive, taking on the role of President, Western Europe, based in London. He was the Managing Director and CEO for the past two years.

The new changes in the management committee will be subject to approval of the shareholders in April.

Mr Harish Manwani, Chairman, HUL, said, “The changes reflect our strong commitment towards leadership development and our tradition of leveraging experiences and synergies of talent across markets. I wish to take the opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the significant contribution that Doug has made to the business in India and in driving the growth agenda. Nitin brings with him significant experience of managing business and functional strengths in sales and marketing. I am confident that Nitin will bring further impetus to the company’s growth agenda.”

The 44-year-old Mr Paranjpe joined HUL as a management trainee in 1987 and has worked across levels in both sales and marketing functions. He was a member of Project Millenium, a key organisation initiative and also served a stint with Unilever in London in 2000-2001, when he worked closely with the Unilever Executive Committee. He returned to India as the head of innovation for fabric wash and home care. In May 2004, he was appointed as Vice-President, Laundry & Home Care.

After two years, in March 2006, Mr Paranjpe was appointed as the Executive Director of Home & Personal Care and was inducted into the management committee. He joined the board of directors of HUL in May 2007.

Mr Paranjpe told presspersons that “I will build the business from where Mr Baillie left off. There are several growth engines and foods is one category which is still underdeveloped and there is enormous opportunity for growth. Water is also another category where resources would be required for growth.”

Banga’s role expanded

HUL has yet to find a replacement for Mr Nitin Paranjpe’s current position of Executive Director, Home & Personal Care. The other changes announced at the Unilever headquarters include the expansion of Mr Vindi Banga’s role. The roles of president, home & personal care and president, foods will be merged under the leadership of Mr Vindi Banga, who is currently President, foods. Unilever would include Central and Eastern Europe along with Asia and Africa as a region and have Mr Harish Manwani, currently Head Asia Africa, to lead the expanded region, while Western Europe will become a standalone region.

Besides, Mr Kees van der Graaf will retire from the boards of Unilever and from his role as President, Europe, at the annual general meetings on May 14 and 15, after a career in the FMCG behemoth spanning 32 years. Mr Ralph Kugler, President, home & personal care, will similarly step down at the AGM after 29 years of service.

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