Unilever sends in chief of transformation Rohit Jawa to India as HUL boss

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever, has announced the appointment of Rohit Jawa as its new managing director and chief executive, effective 27 June.

Jawa, who currently serves as the chief of transformation for Unilever in London, will join the company as CEO-designate and whole-time director from 1 April. He replaces Sanjiv Mehta, who is retiring after a ‘transformational’ tenure of 10 years at the helm of HUL.

Jawa, 56, will also take over as president of Unilever South Asia and join the Unilever Leadership Executive, effective 1 April.

He started his career with HUL as a management trainee in 1988 and has a proven track record of sustained business results across India, South East Asia, and North Asia.

As EVP for North Asia and chairman for Unilever China, he led a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable, and consistent business, now Unilever’s third biggest globally. As the chairman of Unilever Philippines, he led the business to become one of the top 10 markets for Unilever globally.

Appointed the chief of transformation in January 2022, Jawa has successfully orchestrated the once-in-a-decade, end-to-end transformation of Unilever. He worked under Nitin Paranjpe, the chief people and transformation officer of Unilever, and will continue to work with him at HUL as Paranjpe concurrently serves as the non-executive chairman of HUL.

“I am delighted to welcome Rohit back to India. He has a deep understanding of the business landscape particularly in Asia and has led the transformation of Unilever businesses in China and in the Philippines,” Paranjpe said.

“I am certain that with his astute business acumen, and growth mindset Rohit will take HUL to the next level of performance.”

Mehta, 62, took over as the managing director and chief executive of HUL in October 2013 leading the business through a period of sustained growth. During his decade at the helm, the business crossed the Rs. 500 billion (£5bn) turnover mark and the market capitalisation of the company increased more than four times from $17 billion to $75 billion (£63bn), reinforcing HUL as one of India’s most valuable businesses.

“Sanjiv with his foresight has led HUL to become a high-performing and future-fit business. He has been an integral part of the Unilever Leadership Executive and has driven the South Asia growth agenda as the president of the market cluster,” Paranjpe said.

“Through his passion, commitment, and endless energy, he leaves behind a business that is now poised to achieve even greater heights.”