India on mind, Unilever names Manwani COO

Consumer goods giant Unilever Group on Friday named Harish Manwani as its chief operating officer, making him the latest in a series of high-profile global corporate appointments involving Indians.

Consumer goods giant Unilever Group on Friday named Harish Manwani as its chief operating officer, making him the latest in a series of high-profile global corporate appointments involving Indians.

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Anglo-Dutch Unilever, the parent of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), elevated the 57-year-old to the No 2 slot in the group - familiar for brands such as Surf, Rin, Pepsodent, Lipton and Pond's - a year after fellow Indian Manvinder Singh 'Vindi' Banga stepped out after being bypassed for the CEO's post.

Manwani, who is also the non-executive chairman of HUL, will take over under a restructuring of the group valued at $95 billion (Rs 422,910 crore).

He joins other India-bred global corporate leaders such as Indra Nooyi (CEO, PepsiCo), Vikram Pandit (CEO, Citigroup), Anshu Jain (head of corporate & investment bank, Deutsche Bank) and Rakesh Kapoor (CEO, Reckitt Benckiser).

Manwani takes charge on September 1 in a role that involves a strong focus on emerging markets such as India.