Mr Rakesh Kapoor, a 25-year veteran of household, health and personal-care company Reckitt Benckiser, will take over as its Chief Executive Officer, on September 1.

He will succeed Mr Bart Becht, who will stay on as part-time adviser to Mr Kapoor and the company's board till September 2012 to ensure a smooth transition, according to a company press release.

Select Indians

Mr Kapoor joins a select list of Indian-born CEOs of global corporations, a list that includes Ms Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo; Mr Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup; and, Mr Ajay Banga, CEO, MasterCard Worldwide.

The 52-year-old Mr Kapoor is now Executive Vice-President — Global Category Development and an Executive Committee member. Mr Kapoor, the release said, led the UK and Northern Europe business to the best financial performance these businesses have ever delivered.

A B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from BITS, Pilani, and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, Mr Kapoor started off at Network Ltd, an information technology start up that was part of Hindustan Computers Ltd, and joined Reckitt & Colman (as the company was then known) in 1987 as Regional Sales Manager, Northern India.

He moved to the UK in 1997 as a Global Marketing Director – Headquarters and was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2006. Mr Kapoor is married with two children, keenly follows football and cricket, is an accomplished bridge player, and enjoys reading and music.

The UK-headquartered Reckitt Benckiser has 27,000 employees worldwide with operations in over 60 countries and sales in almost 200 countries. It reported revenues of Pound 8,453 million in 2010. Its powerbrands include Dettol, Lysol and Clearasil.

Unanimous choice

The release quoted Mr Adrian Bellamy, Chairman, Reckitt Benckiser, as saying that the board was unanimous in its choice of Mr Kapoor as he had the necessary drive, strategic thinking and operational experience coupled with a more than intimate understanding of and capability to improve RB's financial performance and earnings model. Mr Kapoor said he looked forward to leading the business to its next stage of growth and performance.

Reacting to the announcement, Mr Chander Mohan Sethi, Chairman and Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser India, said “I was privileged to have worked with Rakesh Kapoor. He is a great professional and a fantastic individual.”

A former colleague in India recalls Mr Kapoor as being sharp with an extrovert style of operating. He exuded positive thinking and was a good singer.

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