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Hindustan Unilever (HUL) will split its beauty and personal care (BPC) business and the change will be effective from April 1.
With this, the consumer goods maker will focus on its digital agenda to make the company even more ‘future ready’, it said in a release.
The beauty unit will transition into beauty & wellbeing (B&W) and personal care (PC) businesses and both the divisions will have their own executive directors (EDs).
Beauty and personal care’s contribution was around 37 per cent in FY23.
Harman Dhillon will join the company management committee as ED of the beauty & wellbeing business. Kartik Chandrasekhar will be ED of the personal care business. Both will assume charge on April 1.
The maker of Dove soaps has also appointed Arun Neelakantan to assume the role of chief digital officer from January 1. He is being brought in to unlock growth opportunities by leveraging the digital ecosystem in India, the release said.
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Neelakantan is currently vice-president, digital transformation & growth, and joined HUL in 2006. He has worked in various roles in customer development and marketing.
Madhusudan Rao, ED of the beauty & wellbeing and personal care business, has decided to retire.
Rohit Jawa, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), HUL, said, “HUL has a track record of strong performance. As we embark on our next phase of growth and transformation, we will combine our scale and discipline with innovation and agility to serve our consumers even better and build a future-fit business. BPC continues to be a source of value creation for us.”
He added, “However, the business model, innovation rhythm and competitive landscape for both B&W and PC are diverging. The transition will allow us to bring more focus, and leverage our strong portfolio in both businesses. I am glad to have seasoned business leaders like Harman and Kartik to lead B&W and PC, respectively.”
On Neelakantan’s appointment, Jawa said, “As a company, we need to stay ahead of the trends, build new capabilities, and leverage technology to be future ready. I am confident that Arun will help the company leverage the digital infrastructure in India and accelerate the next phase of HUL’s transformation programme.”
Dhillon is currently India’s skin care head and joined the company in 2006. Between 2015 and 2016, she led the TRESemmé business as global brand director, based out of London and launched Dove Hair and TRESemmé, in India.
Chandrasekhar is currently the global vice-president and head of oral care & skin cleansing for D&E markets. He had joined HUL as a management trainee in 1998 and has worked across Unilever businesses in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The company also announced on Friday a strategic partnership with Brookfield to set up a solar energy park with 45 MW capacity in Rajasthan which will help HUL in its journey towards net zero.
The project will be developed at the site of Brookfield’s solar park, being undertaken as a part of Brookfield Global Transition Fund.
HUL’s board of directors approved an equity investment of up to 27.73 per cent (and up to 32.24 per cent including HUL's wholly-owned subsidiaries), in Transition Sustainable Energy Services One Private Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) incorporated by Brookfield, a global alternative asset manager with one of the world’s largest renewable power platforms. The SPV is formed under the Government's Group Captive Open Access Renewable Energy Scheme.
