HUL is making two key changes in its management committee

Fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is making two key changes in its management committee by replacing the heads of its beauty, wellbeing & personal care and home care divisions.

To lead the beauty, wellbeing & personal care segment, it is appointing company veteran Madhusudhan Rao, who will take charge as an executive director in coming weeks. Currently, Rao is the executive vice-president for home and hygiene category at the parent firm Unilever.

After joining HUL in 1991, in his 30-plus years stint he "demonstrated a strong performance track record in marketing, customer development and brand development roles across geographies,” the company management said. In his current role, Rao helped shape the home & hygiene category as a successful business “with a distinctive high-performance culture,” as per a statement from HUL.

Rao will replace Priya Nair, who has been promoted to a new global role as the chief marketing officer for beauty & wellbeing business.

Deepak Subramanian, who is now the vice-president, home care, South-East Asia & global head for fabric enhancers, will take over from Prabha Narasimhan, who has moved on from HUL to pursue other opportunities. Earlier, Narasimhan was heading the home care business at HUL as an executive director.

Subramanian, who had joined HUL in 1995 as a management trainee, has since worked in multiple roles including marketing manager for Kissan in India, the regional brand director for Vitality Foods and the V-P for foods & refreshment for markets in central & eastern Europe.

According to the company, in his current role, he has “significantly improved the profitability of the business, whilst strengthening top-line growth. In his global role, Deepak helped transform the Fabric Enhancers category by driving innovations and re-positioning the brands to have more social impact.”

Rao “has brought in a strong performance edge in his teams and has pioneered several innovations that uphold Unilever’s high science and technology credentials. Deepak has championed innovation and sustainable strategies to significantly improve brand equity and deliver growth. He has demonstrated superior business acumen in building new categories, primarily in start-up business verticals,” said Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL.