Mr Sanjiv Mehta (60) joined the Board of the Company in October, 2013 as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. He was also appointed as the Executive Vice President of Unilever South Asia. On 30th June, 2018, he was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Company and continued his responsibilities for Unilever in South Asia. In May 2019 while retaining his responsibilities for Hindustan Unilever and Unilever South Asia, he was appointed as President of Unilever, South Asia and Member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), which is the global executive Board of Unilever. Mr Mehta joined Unilever in October, 1992.
Mr Mehta has been with Unilever for 29 years and during the last 19 years he has led businesses in different parts of the world including South Asia, South East Asia, North Africa and Middle East. He was Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Bangladesh from 2002-2006, Chairman and CEO of Unilever Philippines from 2007-2008 and Chairman of Unilever North Africa and Middle East (NAME) from 2008-2013.
During his tenure, as the head of various Unilever Companies, the businesses achieved significant success accelerating both growth and profitability. Importantly, he has been instrumental in building leadership talent and substantially strengthening the organisational capabilities. Before joining Unilever, Mr Mehta worked for Union Carbide India Limited.
Mr Mehta is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has also completed the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School. In terms of his external responsibilities, Mr Mehta is the Senior Vice President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and a member of Executive Committee. He also chairs Xynteo’s ‘Vikaasa’, a purpose-driven business coalition of top Indian and MNC companies formed with an intention to solve some of the intractable environmental and social issues and working towards creating a new model of growth. He co-chairs the Advisory Network to the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. Mr Mehta is a member of the South Asia Advisory Board of Harvard Business School and is a Director on the Board of the Indian School of Business. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Breach Candy Hospital Trust, Mumbai. Mr Mehta is a co-opted member of All India Management Association.
He is a Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, Stakeholders Relationship Committee and Chairman of Risk Management Committee of the Company.
Srinivas Phatak
Executive Director, Finance & IT and Chief Financial Officer (till 30th April 2021)
Mr Srinivas Phatak (49), joined the Company in 1999 after a brief 3 year stint with an external organisation. Mr Phatak was appointed as Executive Director – Finance & Information Technology and Chief Financial Officer of the Company w.e.f. 1st December, 2017. He is also the Vice-President Finance for Unilever, South Asia.
Mr Phatak has been with Unilever for 21 years and worked extensively in India and different parts of the world. His experiences cover all aspects of the finance function. He has been Vice President Category Finance for Deodorants and Oral Care (2012-2013), Vice President Supply Chain finance Americas (2014-2016) and Head of Financial Shared Services for Unilever (2017).
Mr Phatak is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Cost and Works Accountant.
He is a Member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, Stakeholders Relationship Committee and Risk Management Committee of the Company.
Ritesh Tiwari
Executive Director, Finance and Chief Financial Officer (From 1st May 2021)
Mr Ritesh Tiwari (45) is the Executive Director, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). He is also the Vice President, Finance for Unilever, South Asia.
Mr Tiwari joined Unilever as a management trainee in 1999 after completing his certification as a Chartered Accountant & Cost and Management Accountant.
Over the last 22 years, he has led teams both within India and overseas at Unilever in core finance and as a business partner to front-end sales, categories and supply chain. His most recent role has been in the UK as the Vice President, Finance, Global Performance Management for Unilever and CFO for Unilever International, where he is credited with bringing digital transformation, simplification and leading projects with high business impact.
Mr Tiwari is driven by his purpose “Reimagine possibilities and bring value with values.” He is a future-focussed, high energy and results-oriented business leader.
Dev Bajpai
Executive Director, Legal & Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary
Mr Dev Bajpai (55) was appointed as the Executive Director – Legal and Company Secretary and as a Member of the Management Committee of the Company in 2010. Mr Bajpai took additional responsibility of Corporate Affairs function in the year 2012. Mr Bajpai was appointed as an Executive Director on the Board of the Company on 23rd January, 2017.
He has 30 plus years of experience in the areas of Legal, Compliance, Tax and Corporate Affairs across diverse industries including Automobiles, FMCG, Hospitality and Private Equity.
Prior to joining the Company, Mr Bajpai has worked in Maruti Udyog Limited, Marico Limited, The Indian Hotels Company Limited and ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Limited.
Mr Bajpai has been a part of committees of Apex Industry Organisations like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Mr Bajpai is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and holds a law degree from University of Delhi. He has also completed an Executive Programme for Corporate Counsels conducted by Harvard Law School.
He is a Member of the Risk Management Committee of the Company and in his capacity as a Company Secretary is a secretary to all Board Committees.
Wilhelmus Uijen
Executive Director, Supply Chain
Mr Wilhelmus Uijen (46) has been appointed as Executive Director, Supply Chain with effect from 1st January, 2020. He also leads the Supply Chain function for Unilever, South Asia.
Mr Uijen started his career at Unilever in 1999 as a Management Trainee in the Netherlands. He has had held a series of assignments in Supply Chain and Research and Development. He has spent most of his professional life working in various roles in Supply Chain for Unilever’s Latin America business where he was based in Mexico City from 2003 to 2015 with a short assignment in London. He has been the Supply Chain Vice President for Unilever, Mexico and the Caribbean (2012-2015), vice President Home Care SC Latin America based out of Switzerland (2015-2016) and recently headed Unilever’s Supply Chain, Home Care division based out of London (2016-2019).
He holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Applied Physics from Eindhoven University in the Netherlands.
Mr Uijen is a Member of the Risk Management Committee of the Company.
O. P. Bhatt
Independent Director
Mr O. P. Bhatt (70) is the former Chairman of SBI (State Bank of India). In the 37 years that Mr Bhatt served at SBI, he worked on several national and international assignments. Mr Bhatt led SBI through challenging times by leveraging & nurturing the Bank’s strengths. As Chairman of SBI, he headed the largest financial group in India, comprising, in addition to SBI, seven associate Banks, five international banking subsidiaries and nine financial services Companies in India. Under his leadership, SBI rose in market share, market cap and on the Global List rankings of Fortune 500.
Mr Bhatt was nominated ‘Banker of the Year’ by Business Standard and CNN – IBN Indian of the Year for Business in 2007. Mr Bhatt was Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association. He has also been a part of India’s eco-diplomacy as member of the Indo – US, Indo – Russia and Indo-French CEO’s Forum.
Mr Bhatt holds a Graduate degree in Physics and a Post Graduate degree in English literature.
Mr Bhatt was appointed as an Independent Director on the Board of the Company in December 2011. He is a Member of the Audit Committee and Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Company. He is the Chairman of the Stakeholders Relationship Committee and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Company.
Dr Sanjiv Misra
Independent Director
Dr Sanjiv Misra (73) is a retired Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer and a former Member of the 13th Finance Commission, a constitutional position with the rank of a Minister of State. Prior to joining the Finance Commission, Dr Misra has served in a wide range of key positions in the Federal and State Governments, including as Managing Director of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation and stints at senior levels in the Government of India in the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Petroleum, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Ministry of Finance. He served as a Secretary in the Ministry of Finance till his superannuation.
Dr Misra has represented India in various international conferences, seminars and negotiations. Dr Misra has been a Member of the Advisory Council of the Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo. He was also a Member of the Committee on Fiscal Consolidation (Kelkar Committee) set up by the Finance Minister in August, 2012 to chart out a road map for fiscal consolidation for the Indian economy.
Dr Misra graduated in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He has a Master’s degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA and a Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In recognition of exceptional academic strengths and leadership qualities, Dr Misra was designated as Lucius N Littauer Fellow of 1987 at Harvard University.
Dr Misra was appointed as an Independent Director on the Board of the Company in April, 2013. He is the Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and a Member of the Audit Committee and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Company.
Kalpana Morparia
Independent Director
Ms Morparia is the former Chairman of J. P. Morgan, South and Southeast Asia and a Member of J. P. Morgan’s Asia Pacific Management Committee.
Prior to joining J. P. Morgan India, Ms Morparia served as Vice Chair on the Boards of ICICI Group Companies. She was a Joint Managing Director of ICICI Group from 2001 to 2007. She had been with the ICICI Group since 1975.
A graduate in law from Bombay University, Ms Morparia has served on several committees constituted by the Government of India. She has also been recognised by several International & National media for her role as one of the leading women professionals.
Ms Morparia serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of Dr Reddy’s Lab. Ltd. and Philip Morris International Inc. She is also a Member of the Governing Board of Bharti Foundation.
Ms Morparia was appointed as an Independent Director on the Board of the Company with effect from 9th October, 2014. She is Chairperson of the Audit Committee and a Member of the Nomination & Remuneration Committee and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Company.
Leo Puri
Independent Director
Mr Leo Puri (60) was the Managing Director of UTI Asset Management Company Limited from August, 2013 to August, 2018. He has assumed office of the Chairman of JP Morgan Chase for South & South East Asia in early 2021.
In his career of more than 30 years, Mr Puri has previously worked as Director with Mckinsey & Company and as Managing Director with Warburg Pincus. Mr Puri has worked in the UK, USA and Asia and since 1994, he has been based in India.
At Mckinsey, he has advised leading financial institutions, conglomerates, and investment institutions in strategy and operational issues. He has contributed to the development of knowledge and public policy through advice to regulators and Government officials.
At Warburg Pincus, he was responsible for leading and managing investments across industries in India. He also contributed to the financial services investments in the international portfolio as a Member of the global partnership.
Mr Puri has a Master’s degree in P.P.E. from University of Oxford and a Master’s degree in Law from University of Cambridge.
Mr Puri has held Non-Executive Board position at Infosys, Bennett Coleman & Co., Max New York Life and Max Bupa Health Insurance.
Mr Puri was appointed as an Independent Director on the Board of the Company with effect from 12th October, 2018. He is a member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and Stakeholders’ Relationship Committee of the Company.
Dr Ashish Gupta
Independent Director
Dr Ashish Gupta (54) is an entrepreneur, advisor and strategic angel investor. He co-founded Helion Advisors in 2006 and presently represents Helion Advisors, managing a corpus of $600 million across three funds. He also serves on the Boards of several firms including Infoedge, Simplilearn and Workspot.
Prior to Helion, Dr Gupta was a Venture Partner with Woodside Fund and before that, had co-founded two Companies - Tavant Technologies and Junglee.com, which was later acquired by Amazon. He has also worked at Oracle Corporation and IBM. Some of his other investments include redBus, Mu Sigma, Daksh (IBM), Upwork (UPWK), MakeMyTrip, and Flipkart.
Dr Gupta holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur where he was awarded the President’s Gold medal. He is the owner of several patents, published in international journals and authored a book published by MIT Press.
Dr Gupta was appointed as an Independent Director on the Board of the Company with effect from 31st January, 2020. He is also a Member of the Audit Committee of the Company.