 "Henkel India appoints Shilip Kumar as president")
German adhesives major Henkel has appointed Shilip Kumar as the president of its India business, effective June 1, 2016. Kumar succeeds Jeremy Hunter, who led the India business for over five years, and has now moved to Shanghai as president - Henkel China.
Besides, steering the adhesives and beauty care businesses of Henkel Adhesives Technologies India Private Limited (Henkel India), he will continue in his existing role of business director for transportation & metal adhesives SBU in the India, Middle East, Africa (IMEA) region. Based out of Henkel India‘s head office at Navi Mumbai, Kumar will be responsible for leading Henkel’s businesses in India through its next growth phase.
Kumar started his journey with Henkel in 2011 as business director of the transportation and metal SBU in India. He also spearheaded the India Innovation Center - Pune project for Henkel. The center was commissioned in October 2013 and has since contributed significantly to the success of Henkel’s adhesives business in India. He was promoted as business director of transportation and metal SBU in the then newly created region of India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) in April 2013 and has since successfully led the profitable growth of that business. He relocated to the IMEA regional HQ in Dubai in January 2015.
Commenting on his new role, Shilip Kumar, said, “I am pleased to take up the additional responsibility as president of Henkel India. India offers considerable growth potential for Henkel and it will be our endeavour to ensure that we utilise effectively the resources and investments made by our parent company to capitalise on this potential. Our focus remains on delivering innovative technologies and solutions that help create value for our customers in the country.”
Shilip started his career in 1989 with the Management Consultancy Division of A.F. Fergusson & Co, followed by stints with Asian Paints and Rohm & Haas. His most recent assignment prior to joining Henkel was with Dow Chemicals as the business director for Dow Coating Materials in South Asia.
Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business units - laundry & home care, beauty care and adhesive technologies. The company, which owns brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite in the consumer as well as the industrial sectors, reported global sales of Euro 18.1 billion in fiscal 2015.