Hindustan Unilever appointed Priya Nair as the next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, who will take on the role from August 1. Her tenure would be for five years.
A seasoned hand with a stint spanning 30 years, Nair will also join the HUL Board, subject to necessary approvals. She will continue to be a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE).
Nair’s climb to the top spot has been sure and steady. She joined HUL in 1995, and held several sales and marketing roles across Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Personal Care businesses. She began her career at the company in consumer insights and went on to lead iconic brands such as Dove, Rin, and Comfort.
She was eventually elevated to become the Executive Director, Home Care, HUL between 2014 and 2020, thereafter, the Executive Director, Beauty & Personal Care, HUL from 2020 to 2022. After this she became the President of Beauty & Wellbeing in January 2024, a role she holds till August 1.
Beauty & Wellbeing, a €13 billion portfolio, has been one of Unilever’s fastest growing businesses. It comprises four key pillars: hair care, skin care, prestige beauty, and health and wellbeing (vitamins, minerals and supplements).
She had also served as the Global Chief Marketing Officer for the Beauty & Wellbeing business, and was responsible for driving global revenue growth and profit, managing brand equity, building the brand, delivering global innovation programmes, and leading digital marketing transformation.
Nitin Paranjpe, Chairman HUL, welcomed Nair back to India and lauded her “outstanding career in HUL and Unilever”. “I am certain that with her deep understanding of the Indian market and excellent track record, Priya will take HUL to the next level of performance,” he said. Nair is currently located in London.
Nair has been recognised as one of the most influential women in business in India for several years. Priya has also served as an Independent Director on the board of a publicly listed Indian company, been a member of the ASCI board, participated in multiple government bodies involving public-private partnerships, and led industry forums such as MMA India.
Nair, who joined the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business’s Hall of Fame 2022, has a rather well-known appetite for risks. She had told Business Today, “I like to take risks because the world that we live in today requires you to take risks. It is changing fast, and one needs to leapfrog to stay afloat.” Her risks and efforts were key in steering HUL out of the pandemic-induced blues.
Priya Nair holds a commerce degree from Sydenham College and an MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. She has also completed executive education at Harvard Business School.
In an exchange filing, HUL highlighted Nair’s achievements as Global CMO. It noted that she has crafted social-first marketing approaches, expanded influencer-driven innovation, and launched global campaigns aimed at repositioning Unilever’s beauty brands to appeal to younger, digitally savvy consumers.
