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Governance philosophy

With a heritage spanning over 90 years in India, our Corporate Governance framework has evolved significantly over the decades. It is deeply rooted in our core values of Integrity, Respect, Responsibility and Pioneering. Our Values are the simplest statement of who we are. They govern everything we do.

Governance structure

Our Governance structure is multi-tiered, comprising the Board of Directors, Board Committees, CEO & MD and the Management Committee.

Board Members

Board of Directors

The Board’s primary role is to ensure the long-term sustainable success of Hindustan Unilever Limited for the mutual benefit of all our stakeholders.

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Board Committees

The Board Committees play a crucial role in the governance structure and have been constituted to deal with specific areas/activities that need a closer review.

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Audit Committee

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Nomination and Remuneration Committee

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Corporate Social Responsibility Committee

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Risk Management Committee

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Stakeholders Relationship Committee

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Environmental, Social and Governance Committee

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CEO & MD and Management Committee

Our CEO & MD, supported by the Management Committee, are responsible for ensuring delivery of our strategy, business plans and financial performance.

Board of Directors

(Board Composition as on April 24, 2025)

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    Age

    62

    Date of Appointment

    31st March, 2022

    Experience

    Chief Transformation and Chief People Officer, Unilever

    Chief Operating Officer, Unilever

    President, Foods & Refreshment, Unilever

    President, Home Care, Unilever

    MD & CEO, HUL

    Mr Nitin Paranjpe

    Chairman and Non-Executive Director

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    Age

    58

    Date of Appointment

    1st April, 2023

    Experience

    Chief of Transformation, Unilever

    EVP, North Asia & Chair, Unilever China

    Chair & CEO and EVP, Unilever Philippines

    Mr Rohit Jawa

    Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

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    Age

    49

    Date of Appointment

    1st May, 2021

    Experience

    Vice President, Finance, Global Performance Management, Unilever and CFO, Unilever International

    Vice President Finance, Global Supply Chain, Unilever

    Mr Ritesh Tiwari

    Executive Director, Finance & IT and Chief Financial Officer

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    Age

    58

    Date of Appointment

    1st June, 2024

    Experience

    Chief HR Officer, Global Home Care business and Global Head, Employee Relations, Unilever

    Executive Director, HR, HUL

    Mr BP Biddappa

    Executive Director, Chief People, Transformation and Sustainability Officer

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    Age

    64

    Date of Appointment

    12th October, 2018

    Experience

    Chairman, JP Morgan Chase for South & South East Asia

    Managing Director, UTI Asset Management Company Limited

    Director, Mckinsey & Company

    Managing Director, Warburg Pincus

    Mr Leo Puri

    Independent Director

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    Age

    58

    Date of Appointment

    12th November, 2021

    Experience

    Founder & CEO, Colossa Ventures LLP

    MD & CEO, CRISIL

    CEO, L&T Finance Holding's Investment Management and Capital Markets businesses

    Ms Ashu Suyash

    Independent Director

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    Age

    62

    Date of Appointment

    1st April, 2023

    Experience

    Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

    President of the Business Policy and Strategy Division, Academy of Management

    Mr Ranjay Gulati

    Independent Director

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    Age

    65

    Date of Appointment

    1st August, 2023

    Experience

    VP for Global Industries, Strategic Alliances, and Inside Sales for Asia Pacific and Japan, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

    Managing Director, Microsoft India

    Ms Neelam Dhawan

    Independent Director

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    Age

    62

    Date of Appointment

    1st December, 2023

    Experience

    Revenue Secretary, Government of India

    Economic Affairs Secretary, Government of India

    Joint Secretary Department of Financial Services, Government of India

    Mr Tarun Bajaj

    Independent Director

Ms Radhika Shah, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, acts as the Secretary to all the Committees of the Board.

Management Committee 

(Management Committee composition as on April 24, 2025)

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    Age

    58

    Joined MC

    April 2023

    Joined HUL

    June 1988

    Experience

    Chief of Transformation, Unilever

    EVP, North Asia & Chair, Unilever China

    Chair & CEO and EVP, Unilever Philippines

    Mr Rohit Jawa

    Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

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    Age

    49

    Joined MC

    May 2021

    Joined HUL

    November 1999

    Experience

    Vice President, Finance, Global Performance Management, Unilever and CFO, Unilever International

    Vice President Finance, Global Supply Chain, Unilever

    Mr Ritesh Tiwari

    Executive Director, Finance & IT and Chief Financial Officer

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    Age

    58

    Joined MC

    June 2024

    Joined HUL

    May 1992

    Experience

    Chief HR Officer, Global Home Care business and Global Head, Employee Relations, Unilever

    Executive Director, HR, HUL

    Mr BP Biddappa

    Executive Director, Chief People, Transformation and Sustainability Officer

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    Age

    50

    Joined MC

    September 2016

    Joined HUL

    May 1999

    Experience

    Executive Director, Foods & Refreshment

    Executive Director, Sales & Customer Development

    Vice President, Skin Care

    Mr Srinandan Sundaram

    Executive Director, Home Care

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    Age

    45

    Joined MC

    April 2024

    Joined HUL

    September 2006

    Experience

    Vice President, Skin Care & Colour Cosmetics

    Vice President, Hair Care

    General Manager, Skin Cleansing

    Ms Harman Dhillon

    Executive Director, Beauty and Wellbeing

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    Age

    45

    Joined MC

    June 2024

    Joined HUL

    May 2003

    Experience

    Head, Growth & Transformation

    Vice President, e-commerce & Modern Trade

    Vice President, Fabric Care

    Mr Vipul Mathur

    Executive Director, Personal Care

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    Age

    50

    Joined MC

    April 2025

    Joined HUL

    April 2025

    Experience

    CEO & Executive Director, Britannia Industries Limited

    President & Chief Business Officer, Jubilant Foodworks Limited (Domino’s)

    Senior Vice President, The Coca-Cola Company

    Mr Rajneet Kohli

    Executive Director, Foods

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    Age

    55

    Joined MC

    June 2019

    Joined HUL

    September 1997

    Experience

    Global Vice President, R&D, Skin Cleansing

    Dr Vibhav Sanzgiri

    Executive Director, Research and Development

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    Age

    58

    Joined MC

    September 2022

    Joined HUL

    February 1990

    Experience

    Vice President, Beauty & Personal Care

    General Manager, Operations, Home Care

    Head of Innovations & Supply Planning, Home Care

    Mr Yogesh Mishra

    Executive Director, Supply Chain

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    Age

    44

    Joined MC

    January 2024

    Joined HUL

    June 2006

    Experience

    Chief Digital Officer

    Vice President, Growth & Transformation

    Regional Manager, South

    Mr Arun Neelakantan

    Executive Director, Customer Development

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    Age

    48

    Joined MC

    February 2025

    Joined HUL

    February 2025

    Experience

    Global General Counsel, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories

    Regional Counsel, METAI Region, DH Diagnostics LLC

    Head, Legal, Lupin Limited

    Dr Vivek Mittal

    Executive Director, Legal & Corporate Affairs

Governance highlights

Independence (%)
55.56%
44.44%
  • Independent
  • Non-Independent
Diversity (%)
77.78%
22.22%
  • Male
  • Female
Tenure (%)

55.56%

33.33%

11.11%

0

1 to 3 yrs

3 to 6 yrs

> 6 yrs

Age Profile (%)

55.56%

33.33%

11.11%

0

41 - 50yrs

51 - 60 yrs

> 60 yrs

3 out of 6 Board Committees comprise of Independent Directors only
All 6 Board Committees are chaired by Independent Directors

Board activities and key discussion during the year

The Board meets at regular intervals to discuss and decide on our business policy and strategy, as well as other matters. Board and Committee meetings are pre-scheduled, and a tentative annual calendar is circulated to the Directors at the beginning of the year. This allows them to plan their schedules and ensure meaningful participation in the meetings. During FY 2024-25, in addition to the prescribed quarterly meetings, the Board of Directors met six times to consider and decide on matters of strategic importance. The average participation rate at the Board meetings was 94%.

10 Board Meetings held in FY 2024-25

Insight into Board discussions

65% 10% 10% 05% 05% 05%
  • Financial Review
  • Governance
  • Strategy
  • People & Talent
  • Operational
  • Risk Management, CSR & Sustainability

Key decisions taken during the year

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Divestment of water Purification Business Pureit

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Demerger of Ice Cream business

Background pattern

Acquisition of the palm undertaking of Vishwatej Oil Industries Private Limited, as a part of our Palm localisation strategy

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Acquisition of stake in Uprising Science Private Limited (Minimalist)

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Acquisition of stake in Lucro Plastecycle Private Limited to strengthen flexible plastics circularity

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Appointments of Key Managerial and Senior Managerial personnel

During the year, the Board constituted an Independent Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of HUL's Ice Cream business in India

Hul turnover
Home Care Dashboard

Key decisions taken during the year

Divestment of water Purification Business Pureit

Demerger of Ice Cream business

Acquisition of the palm undertaking of Vishwatej Oil Industries Private Limited, as a part of our Palm localisation strategy

Central dashboard image

Acquisition of stake in Uprising Science Private Limited (Minimalist)

Acquisition of stake in Lucro Plastecycle Private Limited to strengthen flexible plastics circularity

During the year, the Board constituted an Independent Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the Ice Cream business in India

Appointments of Key Managerial and Senior Managerial personnel

Business integrity & compliance 

We expect everyone at HUL to be an ambassador of our high ethical standards – what we call ‘Business Integrity.’ Behaving with integrity is part of who we are. We have strong values and clear policies and standards to ensure our employees not only do things right but also do the right thing.

Our Code of Business Principles are mandatory for all employees and others working with HUL.

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Key pillars of our Code of Business Principles

During the year, comprehensive training programs were implemented to sensitise employees about our values, policies, and the ethical standards as set forth in the Code of Business Principles.
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Countering Corruption
Safeguarding Information
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Respecting People
Engaging externally
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In 2024, 100% employees were trained on Code of Business Principles both through online and offline training modules.

To know more about the policies that guide our ethical behaviour, visit https://www.hul.co.in/investors/corporate-governance/policies/

Data privacy

We respect the privacy of all individuals and their personal data, including digital information. We use personal data in accordance with our values, applicable laws and with respect for privacy as a human right. The Code Policy on Personal Data and Privacy is an integral part of our Code of Business Principles and guides our employees on responsible handling of personal data on behalf of Hindustan Unilever Limited.

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Understand the purpose and objective

We understand the purpose and objective of the business activity that requires personal data.

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Maintain proportionality

We assess if there is proportionality for the type and amount of data we are attempting to collect/use.

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Transparency

Ensuring transparency is of paramount importance to drive and maintain trust. This sits at the centre of our Five Privacy Fundamentals, and we expect everyone to go above and beyond legal requirements to achieve the highest levels of transparency.

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Security and protection of data

Securing and protecting the data is fundamental to maintaining compliance with laws and most importantly trust from those who have trusted us with their personal data.

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Governance and accountability

We must demonstrate good governance and accountability across Unilever, such as looking at controls that are in place and how we ensure that our data privacy principles are being met.

Privacy For You & U

During the year, we organised an inaugural Data Privacy Awareness Month ‘Privacy For You & U’ commencing from 28th January 2025 i.e. the Data Privacy Day to help build a stronger culture of data privacy. The Data Privacy Awareness Month was officially launched by our CEO and MD, Mr Rohit Jawa. Our Management Committee members also led awareness sessions on data privacy during the month. This organisation wide month-long event involved recurring cascades, training, games and quizzes to raise awareness on data privacy, internal processes and governance necessary for a privacy centric approach.