HUL Names Niranjan Gupta CFO As Ritesh Tiwari Moves To Global Role At Unilever

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Mumbai: Consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday announced the appointment of Niranjan Gupta as chief financial officer-designate and member of the HUL Management Committee, effective 1 September.

Gupta will succeed Ritesh Tiwari, currently executive director, finance, and chief financial officer (CFO), who has been appointed global head of M&A and Treasury at Unilever Plc, effective 1 November. Tiwari will be based in London.

Gupta will join the HUL Board on 1 November and report to Priya Nair, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of HUL.

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The appointment comes amid a series of senior management changes at the maker of Dove soaps and Vim bars. Last month, the company named Priya Nair as CEO and MD, effective 1 August, following Rohit Jawa's exit after a little over two years in the role.

According to the company, Gupta began his career with HUL and spent two decades in leadership roles before moving to Vedanta Ltd, and later Hero MotoCorp, where he was elevated as CEO in 2023.“Niranjan played a pivotal role in strengthening financial health, driving long-term strategy and forging partnerships, including a collaboration with Harley Davidson,” HUL said.

Tiwari, who took charge as HUL CFO in 2021, led portfolio transformation initiatives, oversaw key acquisitions and disposals, and steered the demerger of the ice cream business into Kwality Walls (India) Ltd, paving the way for its independent listing.

Over the years, several Indian executives from HUL have taken on prominent roles within Unilever Plc. Nitin Paranjpe, for instance, has held multiple leadership positions on

the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), including chief transformation officer and chief operating officer, and now serves as non-executive chairman of HUL. Leena Nair, another HUL veteran, was Unilever's chief human resources officer and a member of the ULE before moving on to become global CEO of Chanel.

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HUL, which reported turnover of ₹60,680 crore in FY25, up 2% year-on-year, and profit after tax of ₹10,644 crore (up 5% YoY), has seen several other leadership changes in the past year. In March, it appointed Rajneet Kohli, former CEO of Britannia Industries, as executive director, Foods. In December 2024, Vivek Mittal took charge as executive director, Legal and Corporate Affairs. Other recent management committee changes include Vipul Mathur (Personal Care) and Arun Neelakantan (Customer Development).

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On Gupta's appointment, Priya Nair said:“I would like to thank Ritesh for his future-focused leadership and invaluable contribution to HUL. His elevation to a global role is a testament to HUL's strong leadership pipeline. I am pleased to welcome Niranjan back to HUL and am confident he will play a pivotal role in steering the company towards its next phase of growth.”

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