Right time to move on, Unilever healthy again: Vindi Banga

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Right time to move on, Unilever healthy again: Vindi Banga

As Unilever's Vindi Banga leaves after 33 years with the company, he shares his thoughts on CNBC-TV18.

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MS Banga, or Vindi Banga as he is more popularly known, is all set to leave Unilever. Banga who is the President of Unilever's Global Foods, Home, and Personal Care Business, has been with the company for 33 years. He will be replaced by Michael B Polk, who is currently President-Americas of Unilever .

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Banga outlined the reasons why he was leaving. He said, "There are two reasons. First of all the company is in very good shape. It has transformed, it is very healthy and vibrant. Evidence is that we can collectively put together a vision that says we are going to double this business in this very uncertain environment."

He added, "The second reason is more personal. I am at an age, I have just turned 55 and I actually think that's a very good age for me to take on a new platform and to explore another opportunity. It's a combination of the success that Unilever has achieved and my own personal stage in life that gives me that opportunity."

Here is a verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: Why you are choosing to leave at this point in time?

A: I must say at the outset that I have had 33 wonderful years with Unilever. It's a great company and it's been a privilege for me to be associated with it first in Hindustan Unilever and then in Unilever. I have had very good set of assignments and all of them have been exciting and stuff from where I have learned. The last five-six years have been absolutely perhaps one of the most exciting periods of my life when I joined the Unilever's executive board and we have worked together to transform this company-Unilever.

Memories are short and thankfully so because in 2004 we had a very difficult challenged situation around the world and from there today Unilever is performing very well indeed. It had a very steady improvement in the performance over this period. The torture test was last year, a global recession and actually in that recession Unilever has performed extraordinarily well. We have done better than our peer group companies and as been reflected in our stock price, which depending on how you measure it is somewhere between 30-50% higher than where it use to be. This has been a very satisfying journey and this has also been a period in which I have reposeful for all our global brand-270 brands in more than 200 countries that we work in.

So it's been a very satisfying journey to be part of the group that transformed this company and brought it back to where it rightfully belongs to be and now therefore is a right time for me to move on and explore other opportunities where I can contribute further.