HUL will be getting a brand new top order

MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever will split the role of current chairman and managing director Sanjiv Mehta, who will retain the second post, said top officials close to the development. A top Unilever executive will become non-executive chairman at the India unit in order to meet the March 2020 Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) deadline for separating the two roles. The measure is aimed at improving corporate governance at Indian companies.Insiders are betting that the maker of brands such as Dove and Sunsilk may appoint Unilever chief operating officer and former HUL CEO Nitin Paranjpe, 56, as non-executive chairman. Paranjpe used to be the president of Unilever's homecare business and executive vice president for the South Asia region encompassing businesses in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal in 2008-13.“We are conscious of this requirement of the regulation and we will take steps to meet it,” a Hindustan Unilever spokesperson said without elaborating. The company is expected to make an announcement early next year, said the people.While the CEO or managing director is directly responsible for operations, the chairman’s remit is governance. Harish Manwani was non-executive chairman of HUL before he retired in 2018.“While the board comprises external corporate stalwarts, Unilever is generally comfortable with having a company person at the helm because there is a lot of coordination that the chairman has to do with the parent company,” said one of the persons. 73002724 ‘Paranjpe seems to be the best bet’“And like Harish Manwani earlier, Nitin Paranjpe seems to be the best bet for that role.” Mehta has been CMD of HUL since June 2018. He’d been appointed CEO and MD of the company in 2013 and has headed Unilever’s businesses in the rest of South Asia since then.Paranjpe was made global chief operating officer in March as part of a leadership recast that also saw Mehta being appointed president of South Asia and a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE).HUL’s independent directors include Aditya Narayanan, Leo Puri, S Ramadorai and OP Bhatt. Sebi wants chairman and managing director roles to be separated with effect from April 1, 2020. This had been recommended by the report of the Uday Kotak committee on corporate governance.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2QtydrQ