What Does The New CEO Bring To HUL? Motilal Oswal Report

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Motilal Oswal Report

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. announced that Ms. Priya Nair, current President of Beauty and Wellbeing at Unilever, will be appointed CEO and MD of the company, effective August 01, 2025, for a period of five years. Ms. Nair will replace Mr. Rohit Jawa, who will step down on July 31, 2025 to pursue the next chapter in his personal and professional journey, the company said. 

We are surprised by the move because Mr. Jawa is leaving HUL after a two-year tenure with the company, the shortest and unprecedented in the company’s history (also leaving Unilever Group). He had chalked out a volume priority plan for FY26, which we considered as a mean-revision opportunity for the company.

Ms. Nair, the first woman CEO of HUL, brings various positive possibilities for the India business. She has 30 years of experience at Unilever, with most of it handling the company’s India portfolio. She has a successful legacy in the Home Care and B&W portfolios. Home Care in HUVR’s India portfolio has seen a massive premiumization drive under her leadership.

HUL in the Q4 earnings concall downgraded its Ebitda margin guidance to 22-23% from 23-24% to increase spending on marketing and promotion. We expect the cost impact will be front-ended and volume pickup will be gradual.

We believe the new CEO can further capitalize on the volume drive with her understanding of Indian consumers and the company’s execution playbook. We have a Buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 3,000.

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