From bikes to shampoos: HUL taps former Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta to take over as CFO

FMCG bellwether Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) said late on Thursday that it has appointed former Hero MotoCorp CEO Niranjan Gupta as the CFO of the company, succeeding Ritesh Tiwari, effective September 1. Gupta will report to HUL MD and CEO Priya Nair . “I am pleased to welcome Niranjan back to Hindustan Unilever, and I am confident that he will play a pivotal role in steering the company towards its next phase of growth,” Nair said in a statement.

Interestingly, Gupta began his career at Hindustan Unilever, spending 20 years in the company in various positions. Post his stint at Unilever, Gupta spent three years at Vedanta Limited before joining Hero MotoCorp in 2017 as the CFO. In 2023, Hero MotoCorp elevated Gupta as the CEO, succeeding Pawan Munjal, who transitioned into an executive chairman role.

During his time as CEO, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer entered into a renewed alliance with Harley-Davidson to develop new motorcycles for India and roll out more iterations of the Harley-Davidson X440, the first product of a partnership that goes back to 2020. Gupta also steered Hero MotoCorp’s early days of foraying into the electric two-wheeler segment, with the Vida brand. He stepped down in January of this year to “pursue other opportunities”.

Tiwari, on the other hand, has been appointed as the global head of M&A and Treasury at Unilever, effective 1st November, and will be based in London. He took over as executive director, finance, and CFO of HUL in 2021. According to a statement by the company, Tiwari steered the company through the turbulent Covid-19 period, “ensuring sustained growth while protecting the financial growth model.” According to Nair, Tiwari led HUL’s ‘portfolio transformation efforts, aligning resources to high-growth areas resulting in strong market share gains.’ “His elevation to the global role is yet another testament to HUL’s strong leadership pipeline,” Nair added in her statement.

The statement also adds that Tiwari was also responsible for driving “competitive volume-led growth amid volatile market conditions”, allocating capital in line with HUL’s strategic priorities. The FMCG major also credits Tiwari for making HUL “future-ready” through significant partnerships, acquisitions, and disposals, more recently, the ice cream business demerger into Kwality Walls (India) Limited, serving as a strategic prelude to its independent listing. 

The appointment follows close on the heels of a major shake-up at HUL, where Rohit Jawa, then the CEO and MD, stepped down from the FMCG company two years after his appointment. Jawa was replaced by Priya Nair, making her the first woman to lead the storied FMCG company.