Priya Nair appointed new CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever, to succeed Rohit Jawa

Priya Nair will be succeeding Jawa for a term of five years, with effect from 1 August 2025 till 31 July 2030.

By  Storyboard18Jul 10, 2025 7:14 PM
Priya Nair appointed new CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever, to succeed Rohit Jawa

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) today announced that Priya Nair, currently President, Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, HUL, effective 1st August 2025. She will also join the HUL Board, subject to necessary approvals, and continue to be a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE).

Nair joined HUL in 1995 and held several sales and marketing roles across Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Personal Care businesses. Her significant contributions led her to become the Executive Director, Home Care, HUL between 2014 and 2020, thereafter, the Executive Director, Beauty & Personal Care, HUL from 2020 to 2022. Subsequently, she went on to become the Global Chief Marketing Officer, Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever. Since 2023, Priya has had a successful tenure as President of Beauty & Wellbeing, one of Unilever’s fastest growing businesses.

Rohit Jawa will step down as CEO and MD on 31st July 2025 to pursue the next chapter in his personal and professional journey.

Jawa took over as the CEO and MD of HUL in 2023. During his tenure of over two years, the company delivered volume-led competitive growth. He introduced the ‘ASPIRE’ strategy that is driving the business to transform portfolio and channels towards high-growth demand spaces. Rohit has held many notable roles across his successful 37-year career, including Executive Vice President North Asia and Chair Unilever China, and Chair of Unilever Philippines, two of the most important Unilever operations, in which he achieved notable success.

Thanking Jawa for his invaluable leadership, Nitin Paranjpe, Chairman HUL said, “On behalf of the Board of HUL, I would like to thank Rohit for leading the business through tough market conditions and strengthening its foundations for success. The Company took decisive actions to sharpen the portfolio and further stepped up its market leadership over the last two years. I wish him the very best for the next chapter in his life.”

Welcoming Nair back to India and to HUL, Paranjpe added, “Priya has had an 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.”

More About Priya Nair

Currently, Nair serves as Business Group President – Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, overseeing a 13 billion Euros portfolio that includes Hair Care, Skin Care, Prestige Beauty, and Health & Wellbeing brands across more than 20 markets.

Nair has worked at Unilever for about 30 years. She began her career in consumer insights at the FMCG company and went on to lead brands like Dove, Rin, and Comfort. "As Global CMO for Beauty & Wellbeing, she architected social-first marketing strategies, scaled influencer-led innovation, and launched global campaigns that repositioned Unilever’s beauty portfolio for younger, more digitally native consumers," HUL mentioned.

Previously, as Executive Director – Home Care (South Asia), she turned around the business by driving sustainability, value innovation, and cost efficiencies, according to the company. Nair is commerce graduate from Sydenham College, MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune and has also completed executive education at Harvard Business School.

First Published on Jul 10, 2025 6:38 PM

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