CXO Moves: Exec movements across HUL, BMW Group, Bacardi India, WPP Media, Airtel and more

Keep up with all the key people movements in the brand marketing ecosystem in Storyboard18’s CXO Moves. Here’s a round-up of the executives who've moved jobs, got bigger roles, switched industries and more.

Vandana Suri and Srinandan Sundaram

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced the appointment of Vandana Suri to the HUL Management Committee (MC) as Executive Director, Home Care, succeeding Srinandan Sundaram, who will take over as CEO, Unilever International.

Suri previously led the premium laundry portfolio at HUL. As Vice President, Skin Care & Colour Cosmetics, Beauty & Wellbeing, she charted the premiumisation agenda for Skin Care, focusing on high-growth categories and formats. Most recently, as General Manager, Beauty & Wellbeing, Indonesia, she drove a strong transformation strategy that accelerated business growth.

Sundaram became Executive Director, HUL and General Manager, Home Care, South Asia in 2024. He pivoted the Home Care business towards future-ready segments through a focused portfolio strategy and expanded Vim from a dishwashing brand into a broader Home Care master brand, including dishwashing liquids and surface cleaners.

Read More: CXO Moves: Exec movements across PUMA, Mother Dairy, WPP Media, Reliance Retail and more

Rene Gerhard

Present: Managing director, BMW Group, Asia

BMW Group Asia has announced that Rene Gerhard will take over as Managing Director for the region effective 1 February 2026. Gerhard, who joined the BMW Group in 2002, brings over two decades of international experience across Germany, India, Australia, and Thailand.

Goodies Narayanan

Previous: Head - International Marketing, Revenue, Growth, Coursera

Present: Director of Marketing (CMO), Bacardi India

Bacardi India has appointed Goodies Narayanan as Director of Marketing – Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for India. She brings experience across Hind Fab, Mind Trainers, Siemens, Procter & Gamble, GSK, and Hotstar.

Read More: CXO Moves: Exec movements across Nestle, Samsung Electronics, Dentsu, Oracle India and more

Parthasarathy M A

Previous: Chief Strategy Officer, WPP Media

Parthasarathy M. A., Chief Strategy Officer at GroupM (now WPP Media), has announced his retirement. He began his career at JWT, serving as Regional Account Director for APAC & Africa.

Read More: CXO Moves: Exec movements across Hyundai Motor India, Protean eGov, Duroflex, Lotte India and more

Maithreyi Jagannathan

Previous: Vice President & Commercial Leader, Procter & Gamble

Present: Category Leader – Health Care at Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care, Procter & Gamble

Maithreyi Jagannathan, Category Leader – Health Care at Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care, will step down from her role effective December 31, 2025, to pursue other interests. She has previously worked with Standard Chartered Bank.

Jeyandran Venugopal

Previous: Chief Product & Technology Officer, Flipkart

Present: CEO, Reliance Retail Ventures

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) has appointed former Flipkart executive Jeyandran Venugopal as its President and Chief Executive Officer. He has previously worked across UIUC, Amazon, Yahoo, Snapdeal, and Myntra Jabong.

Kapil Rathee

Present: CEO, Junglee Games

Junglee Games has announced a major leadership transition, elevating co-founder Kapil Rathee to Chief Executive Officer as part of Flutter Entertainment’s broader Asia Pacific strategy. He has previously worked with TCS, Accenture, BT Financial Group, and TapAndEat.

Vikram Sahu

Present: CEO, Bank of America, India

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Vikram Sahu as CEO of Bank of America NA in India. He succeeds Kaku Nakhate, who held the role for nearly 15 years and will now transition to Chair, India, BofA Securities.

Prior to this appointment, Sahu served as Bank of America’s head of global equity research.

Udipt Agarwal

Present: Managing director, Finolex Industries

Udipt Agarwal has taken over as Managing Director at Finolex Industries. He has previously worked across Shalimar Paints, Jubilant Ingrevia, BASF, Cargill, and Alkyl Amines Chemicals.

Suchita Salwan

Previous: Senior Vice President, Nykaa Luxe

Present: Chief Customer Officer, Airtel

Airtel has appointed Suchita Salwan as its Chief Customer Officer, entrusting her with growth and brand strategy across the company’s B2C portfolio.

Salwan joins Airtel after nearly three years at Nykaa, where she held senior leadership roles across content, brand marketing and Nykaa Luxe. Before that, she founded and led Little Black Book (LBB) — the discovery-commerce platform she launched in 2015 and continued to head after its acquisition by Nykaa.

Her earlier experience spans content-driven commerce, integrated marketing, category management and organic growth at Nykaa, along with marketing roles at BBC Entertainment and event operations with Wizcraft during the Commonwealth Games. She began her career with an internship at the United Nations.

Ashit Kukian

Present: CEO, Big FM

Big FM has appointed Ashit Kukian as its Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 December 2025, marking his return to a top leadership role in the radio industry. Kukian previously served as CEO of Music Broadcast Limited (Radio City) from September 2018 to August 2025.

He has worked across Bennett Coleman & Co, Radio City India etc.

Ashish Chakravarty

Previous: Executive Director & Head of Creative, McCann Worldgroup India

Present: Managing partner and Chief Creative officer, Garage Worldwide

Garage Worldwide has appointed Ashish Chakravarty as Partner and Chief Creative Officer. Chakravarty has previously worked with JWT, TBWA\India, McCann Erickson, and Contract Advertising India.

Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy