An upended market is ending the era of long-serving consumer, retail CEOs in India

Market observers pointed to “structural" changes underway in the industry, with companies facing intense competition, evolving distribution channels, and younger shoppers who are rewriting the rules of how goods are sold to them.

Talent managers said the sector could see even more churn in the coming months and quarters.

Sunil Duggal, former CEO of homegrown FMCG company Dabur India, explained that the operating environment for consumer goods companies has changed dramatically during and after the pandemic.
Duggal served as CEO of the listed company for nearly two decades before stepping down in 2019.

Duggal said businesses such as quick commerce and digital marketing are fundamentally prompting new-age skills. It makes sense to hire people more “connected" with those spaces, he said.
As a result, company boards are also pushing for a generational shift at the top.
“Boards feel it’s time for a new generation of CEOs who can connect with the youngsters of today—in terms of marketing, advertising, and distribution."

The pace of change a decade ago was manageable but no longer, he said.
“During my tenure, the operating environment changed, but not as much as today. I inherited a pure GT (general trade) environment, then MT (modern trade) came in, and we dealt with it without tweaking the business model too much. While we had e-commerce, grocery wasn't the key focus for those platforms."

But, as it evolved, e-commerce – and specifically quick commerce – has become a real disruptor, he noted. “That changed the entire grocery go-to-market ecosystem like nothing else before."


Though still small, quick commerce contributed nearly a third to online FMCG sales in India, which rose 56% to Rs9,800 crore in the year ended May, according to Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar Worldpanel). The channel draws anywhere between 2% and 7% of overall sales in FMCG.

“It’s a transition time clearly — the old has to make way for the new. It’s about time it happened," Duggal added.

Churn under way

In recent months, India’s consumer goods industry, spanning traditional packaged goods to fashion and retail, has seen a wave of management reshuffles:

• Earlier this year, Hindustan Unilever Ltd announced the appointment of Priya Nair as CEO and managing director effective 1 August 2025 following the sudden departure of predecessor Rohit Jawa after spending over two years in the top post.
• In October, lubricant oil maker Castrol India announced the exit of managing director Kedar Lele with effect from 31 December 2025, citing Lele’s desire to pursue other opportunities; he was appointed to the role just in November 2024.
• Beauty and cosmetics company Loreal India named a new country manager Jacques Lebel effective 02 October succeeding Aseem Kaushik who moved to a newly created role of chairman. Kaushik was appointed MD in 2023.
• Last week, biscuit maker Britannia Industries named Rakshit Hargave as its next managing director and CEO, effective 15 December 2025, for a period of five years. Days later, Varun Berry stepped down from his role as executive vice-chairman and interim CEO after a 13-year stint at the company.

The CEO churn comes as discretionary spending remains under pressure, especially in urban markets. In its September quarter earnings announcement, packaged goods major HUL said macroeconomic conditions in India were not favourable.

“The overall FMCG demand was subdued on account of high food inflation, overall income being challenged, wage inflation, and even weather vagaries that led to subdued conditions," according to the company’s management. It had reported flat volumes in the quarter on account of the transition to new GST rates.

At the same time, large global companies continue to raise stakes in India given the country's large, young population base, resulting in stiffer targets in business.

As a result, expectations of investors and boards alike are “very high", said Ravi Kapoor, retail and consumer goods leader, PwC India. “There are not as many obvious opportunities of this size and scale."

Kapoor, however, cautioned against a volatile demand environment.

“Demand patterns are very volatile today, along with splintering of channels that are adding to the challenge," he said. “Household debt levels have really gone up — to 42% of GDP by the end of last year, which was roughly half that around nine years back. Growth is now driven by capital expenditure and less by consumption—that is adding to the stress, and companies must find ways to balance this growth," he said.

Online shoppers

Meanwhile, the nature of demand has shifted too.

Sample this: per a recent Deloitte report, over 70% of Indian consumers rely on digital channels, with online marketplaces influencing purchase decisions. While offline stores remain relevant (53%), peer recommendations (51%) and social media ads (49%) also shape spending behaviour.

“In many categories, we typically used to have two or three players — now more direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are nipping away shares from the bigger players," said Anand Ramanathan, partner, consumer and retail, at Deloitte India.

The traditional way of defining the FMCG target audience – say, a typical housewife between the age of X and Y – no longer holds, he said. “There needs to be a deeper appreciation of millennial and Gen Z shoppers."

In retail too, the story isn’t very different. The churn in the sector has been stark in recent months:

• Listed retailer Arvind Fashions Ltd recently appointed Amisha Jain, formerly MD for South Asia, Middle East and Africa at Levi’s, as its new managing director and CEO effective 13 August. Jain replaced Shailesh Chaturvedi, who took the job in 2021.
• At apparel retailer Bestseller India, Vineet Gautam departed after 15 years, with Sumit Dhingra, formerly at Crocs, taking over the role on 1 June.
• Manish Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Pepe Jeans India, moved to M&S India in February this year as MD. Rakesh Jallipally was appointed as the new Pepe CEO in July 2025.
• Mint on 31 October reported that Ramprasad Sridharan, former MD & CEO of Benetton India, is set to take over as managing director of Puma India in place of Karthik Balagopalan who had taken the position in May 2023.

“Earlier, retail was a very standalone, offline model… you were expected to drive offline footfalls and brand pull. Now a good chunk has moved online," said Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer, professional talent solutions, Randstad India, a talent company.

He added that this behavioural shift, especially in a young, tech-savvy country, is pushing retailers to rethink leadership.

Many of these shoppers are spending more time online, looking beyond traditional media and well-known brands to try new-age brands more aligned with their values.

“In India, with an average age of around 28 years, people are extremely digitally savvy. They may not necessarily walk into a store. So you need leaders who are equally digital," Giri said.

New job skills

Hiring mandates have changed too as a result, he said. “Companies are looking for candidates who have managed a lot of integration i.e. those who have done a lot of physical scale-up, and also have brought about digital expansion," he said.

Rituparna Chakraborty, partner at executive search firm True Search India, said the FMCG business, once known be led by stable, long-serving leaders, has structurally changed in a volatile environment marked by unpredictable consumer behaviour and supply chain disruptions.

“Earlier, FMCGs were built around layered distribution networks. Now, understanding this D2C playbook is non-negotiable," Chakraborty said.

Another factor driving leadership churn is pressure to deliver results faster.

“Markets and shareholders lack patience. Transformation timelines have shortened dramatically, and performance pressure is immense," she said.

Duggal acknowledged that long corner office stints of 15-20 years are a thing of the past.

“It’s a good thing. The industry needs leaders who can navigate this new world, not just those who can preserve the old one," he said.