HUL appoints Arun Neelakantan as executive director-customer development

Mumbai: Packaged consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), on Thursday announced the appointment of Arun Neelakantan, chief digital officer, HUL, as executive director, customer development, effective 1 July. 

Neelakantan, 43, will succeed Kedar Lele, who will be pursuing an external opportunity, the company said in a statement.

Neelakantan started his career with HUL as a key account manager in modern trade in 2006 after completing his bachelor’s degree from IIT Madras, a Master’s from Penn State University, and an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB).

“Under his leadership, the South region went on to launch several initiatives for customer development in India, backed by deep consumer insights and execution excellence in the market,” the company said in a statement.

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Meanwhile, Lele, who spent over two decades at the consumer goods company, was responsible for HUL’s foray into e-commerce.

“Under his leadership, our pioneering e-business-to-business app Shikhar was scaled up and it now covers over a million retailers across the country,” said Rohit Jawa, CEO and managing director, HUL.

The company has made some fresh additions to its management committee in recent months. 

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In May, the company announced the appointment of Vipul Mathur as executive director of personal care, effective June 1st, 2024, in succession to Madhusudhan Rao. 

In April, HUL announced the appointment of BP Biddappa, former global chief human resource officer, home care business, as member of the management committee and as executive director, human resources and chief people, transformation and sustainability officer. He succeeded Anuradha Razdan, who moved to a global role.

HUL is one of India’s largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies with a portfolio of over 50 brands, spanning 16 FMCG categories. In FY24, the company reported a turnover of ₹59,579 crore.

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