Brands

HUL announces key leadership changes

Published

3 years ago

March 10, 2023

Mumbai: On Friday, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)announced that Rohit Jawa will be the new managing director and CEO from 27 June 2023 and will join the company as CEO and whole-time director from 1 April 2023.

Jawa will also take over as president of Unilever South Asia. He will join the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) effective 1 April, 2023. After a transformational tenure of ten years at the helm of HUL, Sanjiv Mehta will retire from the company.

Rohit Jawa is currently the chief of transformation for Unilever in London where since January 2022, he has successfully orchestrated the once-in-a-decade, end-to-end transformation of Unilever. Starting his career with HUL as a management trainee in 1988, he has a proven track record of sustained business results across – India, South East Asia, and North Asia.

As EVP for North Asia & chairman for Unilever China, he led a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable, and consistent business, now Unilever’s third biggest globally. As the chairman of Unilever Philippines, he led the business to become one of the top 10 markets for Unilever globally.

Jawa’s ability to integrate the strength of traditional markets with digital technologies and future-fit business models, positions him well to take HUL into its next growth phase.

Sanjiv had taken over as the MD & CEO of HUL in October 2013 leading the business through a period of sustained growth. During his decade at the helm, the business crossed the 50 thousand crore turnover mark and the market capitalisation of the company increased more than four times from $17 billion to $75 billion, reinforcing HUL as one of India’s most valuable businesses.

At the heart of Mehta’s success mantra has been the proposition of long-term value creation anchored by growth, high performance anatomy and distinctive capabilities. He introduced several transformative business programmes such as ‘Dial Up the Big Q’ and ‘Winning in Many Indias’ to make the business more consumer-centric, agile, and resilient. To make the business more future-fit, Sanjiv kickstarted the ‘Reimagine HUL’ agenda by leveraging data, harnessing latest technologies and designing business models to redefine how HUL engages with consumers, customers, and the way the business operates.

He has led the business into future growth segments with several strategic mergers and acquisitions such as the amalgamation of GSK Consumer Healthcare into HUL, one of the biggest mergers in the history of FMCG in the country. Under his leadership, various programmes, such as the Hindustan Unilever Foundation, Project Shakti, Project Prabhat and Suvidha scaled new heights, reinforcing his commitment to responsible growth. Sanjiv actively championed the diversity agenda making HUL an even more inclusive organisation.

Thanking Mehta for his immense and sustainable contribution to the business, HUL non-executive chairman Nitin Paranjpe said, “Sanjiv with his foresight has led HUL to become a high-performing and future-fit business. He has been an integral part of the Unilever Leadership executive and has driven the South Asia growth agenda as the president of the market cluster. As the president of FICCI last year, Mehta made a significant contribution towards the industry in India. Through his passion, commitment, and endless energy, he leaves behind a business that is now poised to achieve even greater heights.”

Welcoming Jawa to HUL, Paranjpe, added, “I am delighted to welcome Rohit back to India. He has a deep understanding of the business landscape particularly in Asia and has led the transformation of Unilever businesses in China and in the Philippines. I am certain that with his astute business acumen, and growth mindset Rohit will take HUL to the next level of performance.”

Ranjay Gulati is appointed as an Independent Director on its Board, effective 1 April 2023.

Gulati comes with a rich understanding of Business Strategy and is presently a professor at Harvard Business School. He is an expert on organizational growth and until recently, chaired the advanced management program, the school’s flagship senior leader executive program.

Gulati is the former president of the bnusiness policy and strategy Division at the Academy of Management and an elected fellow of the Strategic Management Society. He has been a Harvard MacArthur Fellow and a Sloan Foundation Fellow.

Gulati holds a Master’s Degree in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University. He graduated in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Mehta said, “Gulati is a thought leader in the field of business strategy and organisational behaviour. Through his work, he has been developing solutions for organisations that are seeking to grow rapidly in turbulent markets. Gulati upholds the importance of building resilience while also retaining culture and the energy for innovations. I strongly believe that his deep insights will benefit the company immensely.”

Welcoming Gulati, Paranjpe added, “We are delighted to have such an eminent scholar on the Board of the Company. Mr Gulati’s knowledge and deep understanding of cultivating a winning mindset while keeping purpose at the heart, will surely help the Company steer further ahead in its future-fit journey.”

Gulati said, “It is a privilege to join the Board of such an iconic company. HUL is one of the best and most respected consumer goods companies in the country. I look forward to my role as an Independent Director.”

Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

Brands

BCCL profit jumps 53 per cent in FY25 as tax bill shrinks

Revenue rises 4.3 per cent to Rs 10,209.33 crore while deferred tax gain lifts bottom line sharply

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) has posted a sparkling set of financial results for the year ended 31 March 2025, proving that there is still plenty of ink and gold left in the ledger.

Revenue from operations climbed a steady 4.3 per cent, reaching Rs 10,209.33 crore compared to Rs 9,786.44 crore the previous year. When you sprinkle in other income, which rose 8.9 per cent to Rs 949.36 crore, the total income for the media behemoth hit a healthy Rs 11,158.69 crore.

While the income grew at a modest pace, the bottom line tells a far more dramatic story. The real headline is the 53 per cent surge in annual profit. How did they pull off such a feat? While Profit Before Tax (PBT) saw a gentle nudge upward of 2.7 per cent to Rs 1,610.00 crore, it was a vanishing act by the taxman that really did the trick.

Total tax expenses plummeted by 32.4 per cent, dropping from Rs 468.76 crore down to Rs 316.97 crore. This was largely thanks to a swing in deferred tax, moving from an expense of Rs 156.02 crore in FY24 to a benefit of Rs 39.44 crore this year.

Total income rose from Rs 10,658.55 crore in FY24 to Rs 11,158.69 crore in FY25, marking a 4.7 per cent increase. Total expenses grew at a slower pace, up 3.0 per cent from Rs 9,306.06 crore to Rs 9,581.45 crore. Profit before tax inched up 2.7 per cent, moving from Rs 1,567.02 crore to Rs 1,610.00 crore. However, the standout figure was net profit, which jumped sharply by 53.0 per cent, climbing from Rs 1,042.03 crore in FY24 to Rs 1,594.73 crore in FY25.

Despite the rising costs of doing business across the globe, BCCL kept a tight grip on the purse strings. Total expenses rose by just 3.0 per cent to Rs 9,581.45 crore. By keeping costs lower than the rate of income growth, the company ensured that the final figure, a net profit of Rs 1,594.73 crore, was nothing short of a front-page sensation.

In a world of shifting digital tides, it seems the BCCL ship is not just steady, but sailing into significantly wealthier waters.