Who is Priya Nair? The Malayali pioneer set to take charge of Hindustan Unilever this August

Priya Nair, 53, is to take over as Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) first female Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) starting August 1.

Hailing from Palakkad, she currently resides in London with her husband and daughter. Always keen on learning, she is an MBA Marketing graduate from the Symbiosis Institute of Management, Pune. She also holds a BCom in Accounts and Statistics from the Sydenham College, Mumbai.

How Priya climbed the ladder over three decades

She began her career with sales and marketing roles with brands such as Dove, Rin and Comfort.

Priya’s career in HUL in 1995 as a management trainee, working in roles across Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care businesses.

Her significant contributions led her to become the Executive Director, Home Care, HUL between 2014 and 2020, thereafter, the Executive Director, Beauty & Personal Care, HUL from 2020 to 2022. She eventually became the Global Chief Marketing Officer, Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever.

Since 2023, Priya has had a successful tenure as president of Beauty & Wellbeing, one of Unilever’s fastest growing businesses, reportedly handling a €13 billion portfolio across 20 markets.

Unwilling to rest on nearly three decades of experience, she chose to upskill herself by enrolling in an Executive Leadership Programme at Harvard.

She had led the launch of HUL’s rural mobile marketing initiative, ‘Kan Khajura Tesan’, which received three Gold Lion awards at the 2014 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

What sets Priya’s leadership apart?

In 2022, she told Storyboard18, “I have learnt that if you are fortunate enough to discover your purpose, you will have the strength to manage all volatility and uncertainty.” For her, learning never stops. “Learning agility is critical in management, as we see the world change at an increasing speed,” she said.

Her appointment is expected to improve the FMCG company’s growth, which has been sluggish in recent years. The company has been struggling with tough competition, especially with new entrants in the beauty care sector, as well as increasing digitisation and awareness about sustainability.

The Economic Times reported Sanjiv Mehta, executive chairman at L Catterton India and former MD at HUL, as saying that "Priya is an exceptional leader. She had played a stellar role as part of my team to grow the home care business in terms of growing market shares and significantly improving the margins. She is not only a very good marketer but is an excellent operator and business person”.

Notably, Rohit Jawa is leaving the company this month after completing the shortest tenure for any MD in HUL’s 92-year-old history. HUL’s stock price had reportedly fallen 10% during Jawa’s tenure, while sales growth has not climbed above 4% in the past few years. Interestingly, HUL shares climbed to 4.8% on Friday according to media reports, indicating the positive changes to come with renewed leadership.