HUL gets first woman CEO - still a rarity in Indian FMCG leadership

Nair, currently President – Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, will succeed Rohit Jawa, who steps down at the end of July.

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Priya Nair’s elevation at Hindustan Unilever (HUL) as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director makes her the first woman to lead the consumer company in its 90-year history, and one of few woman CEOs in India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space.

Nair, currently President – Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, will succeed Rohit Jawa, who steps down at the end of July. She will also join the HUL Board, subject to approvals, and continue as a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE). Until November 2021, HUL had just one woman on its board, but now there are two female directors in a nine-member board, a stark contrast to its Anglo-Dutch parent Unilever, where women hold half the seats on a 10-member board.

Nair's elevation is significant for the broader consumer goods industry, where women form a large chunk of the customer base but are vastly underrepresented in top leadership roles. Read More

As per data, of the 81 companies constituting the S&P BSE FMCG Index, only three have women CEOs - Hina Nagarajan at United Spirits, Prabha Narasimhan at Colgate Palmolive India and MR Jyothy at Jyothy Labs. Despite strong entry-level representation, women hold less than 20% of C-suite positions in India, a McKinsey report had said earlier this year. The report attributed this drop-off to limited hiring at senior levels, higher attrition among women, and fewer promotion opportunities.

Read More: Can a new CEO turn around HUL’s underperformance?

“The appointment of Priya Nair as MD & CEO of HUL is yet another powerful crack in the glass ceiling. It sends a clear message to girls and women across India - no role is out of reach, even at the highest levels of corporate leadership,” said Kartik Narayan, CEO - Staffing, TeamLease Services.

There are three women for every 10 employee in India Inc, but only one woman makes it to a leadership team of 10, according to a study by staffing company CIEL HR.

Among major FMCG firms including Dabur, Marico, Emami, ITC, Nestle India and Britannia, top executive positions continue to be dominated by men, and while there have been women in senior leadership roles, full-time female CEOs are still a rarity.

Past Women Leaders of India Inc

Among the most well-known, Vinita Bali served as the Managing Director of Britannia Industries from 2005 to 2014.  In 2005, following 16 years of overseas assignments, Bali returned to India as MD & CEO of Britannia and during the next nine years, significantly diversified the geographic and product portfolio, steered the company on a Health and Nutrition course, developed a successful dairy business in India and more than quadrupled the revenue. In 2009, Bali created the Britannia Nutrition Foundation and since then has pioneered the cause of addressing malnutrition in India.

At PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi served 12 years as CEO, during which she doubled sales and boldly moved toward health and sustainability. Prior to becoming the CEO, Nooyi served as PepsiCo’s President and Chief Financial Officer and was a member of the company’s board of directors. During her tenure, PepsiCo grew net revenue more than 80%, and PepsiCo’s total shareholder return was 162%, beating the S&P 500 over the same period.

At Unilever, Leena Nair’s appointment as Global Chief Human Resources Officer in 2016 was a milestone. She later went on to become CEO of luxury fashion house Chanel, but such trajectories remain uncommon.