Rohit Jawa appoints as MD and CEO of Hindustan Unilever

Rohit Jawa took charges as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL). Jawa has replaced Sanjiv Mehta who retired on Monday after the company’s annual general meeting. Mehta handed over the baton to Jawa, who was appointed as an Additional Director and CEO-Designate from April 1, from the close of business hours on June 26. Mehta was at the helm for almost a decade and was with the company for more than 30 years.

Prior to this role, Jawa was the Chief of Transformation for Unilever in London. He had 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. Mehta had taken over as the MD & CEO of HUL in October 2013.

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About the Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is a British-owned Indian consumer goods company headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the British company Unilever. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products, water purifiers and other fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs).
HUL was established in 1931 as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co. Following a merger of constituent groups in 1956, it was renamed Hindustan Lever Limited. The company was renamed again in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited.
Hindustan Unilever has been at the helm of a lot of controversies, such as dumping highly toxic mercury-contaminated waste in regular dumps, contaminating the land and water of Kodaikanal. (See: Kodaikanal mercury poisoning). The British company also faced major flak for an advertising campaign attacking the Hindu pilgrimage site at Kumbh Mela, calling it a “place where old people get abandoned,” a move that was termed racist and insensitive.[5]
As of 2019, Hindustan Unilever’s portfolio had more than 50 product brands in 14 categories. The company has 21,000 employees and recorded sales of ₹34,619 crores in FY2017–18.
In December 2018, HUL announced its acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline India’s consumer business for US$3.8 billion in an all equity merger deal with a 1:4.39 ratio. However the integration of GSK’s 3,800 employees remained uncertain as HUL stated there was no clause for retention of employees in the deal.[8] In April 2020, HUL completed its merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) after completing all legal procedures. In December 2022, HUL’s market cap was Rs. 638548.42 crore.

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