Exclusive: Major leadership rejig at Nestle India; Rajat Jain to get significant role within group

Nestle India's Rajat Jain, who is the foods business head, also leading MAGGI in South Asia (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), is set to get a significant leadership role within the Nestle Group. Rupali Rattan, will succeed Jain as the head of the Foods Business.

Gopichandar Jagatheesan will take over from Rattan, as head of Chocolates and Confectionery Business, and Manav Sahni will head Nestle's Dairy Business.

The executives will be designated as Senior Management Personnel. The new roles will be effective January 1, 2025.

Jain has a career of almost two decades in brand building, innovation, sales, leadership and digital transformation. He has helped build Maggi, one of the world’s most chosen FMCG brand and one of India’s most loved. He joined Nestle India as a management trainee in 2004.

Rattan joined Nestlé in 2019. She previously handled large confectionery brand portfolio across India and Sri Lanka. In her initial assignment with Nestlé India, she was in the Communications team where she supported the Business Units in developing content inputs across core brands from MAGGI, NESCAFÉ, KITKAT and MUNCH, and streamlined Digital operations. Subsequently, she moved as Marketing Head – KITKAT. In 2021, she took over as business executive officer of Chocolates and Confectionery Business.

Jagatheesan joined Nestlé in India in 2008 and worked across Nestlé group in the Supply Chain, Sales, Chilled Dairy, Confectionery and Cereals Business. In March 2024, he took over as head of Dairy Business.

Sahni joined the foods major in 2022. In his current role at Nestle, Sahni manages Nestlé a+ brand portfolio - which operates in the UHT Milk, Chilled Dairy and Breakfast Cereals space, and Nescafé RTD brand.