Priyanka Pani Harish Manwani, the longest serving non-executive chairman of India’s largest FMCG firm, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), has decided to retire after being in that position for 13 years.

Manwani was made HUL’s non-executive chairman in 2005, when he was also the first ever Chief Operating Officer of Unilever, the global FMCG giant.

HUL said in a statement that Manwani will retire after the forthcoming AGM, following which CEO and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta will take over as the Chairman and Managing Director. Mehta will also be reappointed as the CEO of the company.

Since SEBI has decided to split the roles of Chairman and MD by April 2020, the HUL board will ensure the separation of the two positions by then, the statement said.

A risk taker

Speaking to BusinessLine , former and current employees of HUL termed Manwani a “risk taker” and a “man of big bets”.

D Shivakumar, a former HUL executive and currently President (Corporate Strategy and Business Development) at Aditya Birla Group, said: “Harish is an excellent leader, great with people, and has a strong focus on innovation.”

“He is a guy of big bets and always took the most difficult decisions,” said another former employee, adding that insiders call him “punter Harish” for the big bets he made.

“He is an out and out people’s man. He would remember even a trainee and call you by your first name. He would randomly pat employees and give them pep talks,” recalled another employee.

“He always has this curiosity of a schoolboy and is always eager to learn,” said one insider.

Up the ranks

Manwani joined the then Hindustan Lever Ltd in 1976 as a management trainee and rose to become the Chief Operating Officer of Unilever in 2011, retiring from that position in 2014.

In his 42 years of service in the Unilever Group, he handled multiple responsibilities and is known for bringing in massive growth in the personal products category, which includes skincare, oral care and laundry.

“Harish leaves behind a legacy that few will be able to match,” said CEO Mehta. He has lived the values that make HUL such a great company. I will personally miss his leadership and wise counsel.”

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