Manwani dons mantle as HLL chief

With margins and profitability under pressure, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), India’s largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, ma...

With margins and profitability under pressure, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), India’s largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, made a big change at its top level by bringing in Unilever President (Asia & Africa) Harish Manwani to succeed M.S. Banga as the non-executive chairman of HLL.

‘‘It is the intention of the board to elect Harish Manwani as the non-executive chairman of the company in succession to M.S. Banga from the conclusion of the annual general meeting on June 24, 2005,’’ HLL informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) here on Monday. Unilever holds 51 per cent stake in HLL.

Bang will continue as President — Foods for Unilever. The statement said the board of directors at its meeting on April 29 decided to co-opt Manwani as an additional director on the board while Banga is not to seek re-election as non-executive director at the AGM.

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‘‘Consequent to him becoming president — foods of Unilever, M.S. Banga has advised the board that he will not seek re-election as a non-executive director at the AGM of the company scheduled for June 24, 2005,’’ it said.

After graduating with a degree in statistics from Bombay University, Manwani joined HLL as a management trainee in 1976. After working on several sales and marketing assignments, including a two-year term with Unilever Export Ltd in the UK, he became divisional vice president, marketing, detergents, in 1994 in HLL.

Manwani joined the Board of Hindustan Lever Ltd in 1995 as director and was responsible for the personal products business. He was also Chairman of the wholly-owned subsidiary, Lakme Lever Ltd and director of the joint venture Kimberly Clark Lever Ltd.

In addition, he held regional responsibility as the category leader for personal products for the then Central Asia and Middle-East business group. He was also a member of the international category boards for the oral, skin care and hair categories.

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Banga’s term in HLL was dogged by a shrinking FMCG market, high cost price wars unleashed by rivals like P& G and HLL’s own strategy to concentrate on 30 brands.

Unilever sells 97.5% stake in Rossell
MUMBAI: Two units of Unilever, the world’s largest maker of food and soap, have together sold a 97.5 per cent stake in Rossell Industries Ltd. The Netherlands-based Unilever Overseas Holdings BV, a wholly-owned unit of Unilever, sold 3.7 million shares in Rossell to MK Shah Exports Ltd, Hindustan Lever Ltd told the BSE.