 "Satish Rao, the new CMD of Firmenich India")
Switzerland-based fragrance and flavour company Firmenich has appointed Satish Rao as chairman and managing director of Firmenich India, effective July 4, 2016. Satish will be based in Mumbai and report to Armand de Villoutreys, president of the perfumery business and member of the global executive committee. He joins Firmenich from his most recent role as vice president, emerging markets at McCormick & Company Inc, USA, a Fortune 1000 global food leader.
“India is a strategic high growth market for Firmenich where we are the market leader in perfumery and gaining great traction with our flavours business. Under Satish’s leadership, we have great ambitions to grow our business and footprint in India, by putting our innovation and creativity to work to meet the needs of our customers and partners,” said Armand de Villoutreys, president of the perfumery business, Firmenich.
Satish Rao commented, “I am very excited to be joining Firmenich, a visionary company that stands for world-class research and creativity, with a cutting edge sustainability agenda. Drawing upon my experience of the flavours industry in India, I will make sure we unlock the market’s full potential, aiming to make a difference for our customers and their consumers through our innovation and operational excellence.”
Rao is a proven business leader in the flavours industry with a solid background in sales, marketing and business development across India, the US and China. Instrumental in McCormick’s entry into India, Satish Rao has held several senior roles throughout his 20 years with the company, including managing director of McCormick India, vice president of the consumer division based in the US, and marketing and business development director Asia, based in China. Rao also worked for five years with Bayer in India.
