Avenue Supermarts' Ignatius Navil To Step Down In 2026, Unilever's Anshul Asawa To Take Over

Avenue Supermarts Ltd. on Saturday named Anshul Asawa as its chief executive officer-designate after the DMart chain operator posted profit that missed estimates amid stiff competition from online grocery players as well as offline peers, many of whom are outpacing DMart in terms of growth.

Asawa will join as CEO-designate in March and formally take over from Ignatius Navil Noronha from February 2026, the Mumbai-based company said in a filing. Noronha, who owns 1.95% of DMart worth roughly Rs 4,700 crore, will continue as CEO in the interim.

"After more than two decades of exceptional leadership and a glorious tenure at the helm of the business, Neville has chosen not to extend his contract," the company said in a statement. Noronha will complete his current term of five years as the managing director on January 31, 2026.

Asawa, an IIT Roorkee and IIM Lucknow alumnus, will be joining DMart after a 30-year long stint at Unilever Plc. where he had leadership roles overseeing the growth of product categories and developing impactful functions in India, Asia, and Europe, according to DMart. He is currently the country head of Unilever in Thailand and general manager for the home care business unit in Greater Asia.

During his tenure of over 15 years in India, Asawa led the digitisation efforts at HUL and was also at the forefront of leading product innovations for homecare categories and sales & distribution transformations in urban and rural markets within the country. He is known for his consumer-centricity, commercial discipline, and execution focus, according to DMart.

Interestingly, Noronha also had an experience working with HUL prior to working in DMart.

DMart is facing “increased intensity in discounting in the FMCG category and the consequent impact to high turnover per square feet stores in metro towns,” the Radhakishan Damani-founded company said. However, the impact in the December quarter has "relatively reduced" versus the previous quarter, it said.

The retail chain operator said that its home delivery business far exceeds its pick-up point sales contribution, and in several towns, it now only provides home delivery. “We are seeing significantly more demand for home delivery compared to pick-up point and hence we continue to align our business to that extent."

The company has also elevated two executives as senior management personnel.

Hitesh Shah, vice-president of FMCG division, will now oversee the pharmacy business. Rajeev Chandrasekharan, who joined DMart in 2015 and is currently a general manager, has been appointed as head of Centre of Excellence to oversee the process audit function of the company.

There is also a change in the role of Ashutosh Dhar, who is now head —loss prevention —at DMart. Earlier, he was vice-president, according to his LinkedIn profile. Dhar will not be considered a senior management personnel due to a change in his reporting structure, the company said.