Rajneet Kohli, former chief executive officer (CEO) and executive director of Britannia Industries, will join Hindustan Unilever (HUL) as executive director, foods, on April 7, the company said on Wednesday. He will replace Shiva Krishnamurthy, who will move on from his role to pursue an external opportunity, the company said. Kohli will also join HUL’s management committee, effective April 7.
Britannia had announced earlier this month that Kohli had resigned from the company to pursue an external opportunity. He had vacated his position at the company on March 14.
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“Rajneet brings extensive experience in managing large foods and beverages businesses and driving high performance. I am confident that he will lead the foods business to the next phase of growth and transformation,” Rohit Jawa, CEO and MD, HUL, said.
With close to 30 years of experience in consumer and retail, Kohli will lead HUL’s second-largest business after home care, following a split last year in the company’s beauty and personal care division into beauty and well-being and personal care businesses.
HUL sells food brands such as Kissan ketchup, Bru coffee, Knorr noodles, Brooke Bond tea, Horlicks malt drinks, Lipton tea, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise. Its home care division, which is the company’s largest, includes laundry and home cleaning brands such as Surf Excel, Rin, Vim and Wheel.
In FY24, the foods and refreshment division reported a revenue of Rs 15,292 crore, contributing 25% of HUL’s nearly Rs 60,000-crore turnover, up from a 17% contribution nearly 10 years ago, according to an investor presentation by the company.
The Kwality Wall’s ice cream unit, which was a part of HUL’s business in FY24, has since been spun off and is set to be listed as Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd.
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Apart from Britannia, Kohli has worked with companies such as Asian Paints, Coca-Cola and Jubilant FoodWorks. At Britannia, Kohli was instrumental in strengthening the company’s position in the highly competitive food and bakery segment by driving product innovation and digital capabilities, industry experts said.
HUL has seen a series of appointments since 2023.
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