All You Need To Know About Rohit Jawa: HUL's New CEO Jawa's association with Hindustan Unilever started in 1988 when he joined the company as a trainee
By Shrabona Ghosh •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
"Today marks my first day as the CEO & MD of Hindustan Unilever Limited, and I'm humbled and honored to be entrusted with this position of great responsibility," said Rohit Jawa, CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever Limited. Sanjiv Mehta, former MD, HUL passed the baton to his successor Rohit Jawa effective June 27 2023.
Jawa's association with Hindustan Unilever started in 1988 when he joined the company as a trainee. " I first walked into the then Hindustan Lever Limited as a management trainee in my early 20s. Looking back, while a lot may have changed over the years, what has withstood the test of time is our DNA of 'Leaders build Leaders', our core values and our purpose-driven culture.Today's India is full of opportunities, and the consumer story is getting more exciting as it evolves."
Rohit Jawa, had a fair share of success to his credit over his three and half decades long career at the FMCG heavy weight. At Unilever, Jawa held leadership roles across sales, marketing, transformation and general management. "My last role was the EVP for North Asia & chairman for Unilever China, heading our business in one of top priority market clusters, where we have delivered a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable and consistent business, now our third largest in the world.I have worked in India, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and China, covering local, regional and global markets," stated his LinkedIn bio.
As EVP North Asia and Chairman Unilever China for five years until early 2022, Rohit helped to transform the business into Unilever's third largest globally. He developed a distinct strategic agenda for China, championed digitalisation and premiumisation, and steered the business very capably through the pandemic. As the Chairman of Unilever Philippines, he led the business to become one of the top ten markets for Unilever globally.
He has a proven track record of leadership and sustained results across Asia - south Asia, southeast Asia and north Asia. He has an expertise about integrating the strength of traditional markets with digital technologies and future-fit business models. "I have built a deep understanding of this market and a broad experience across Home Care, Personal Care and Food sectors," added his bio.
He has received the 'CEO Excel' award for 2015 by the Philippines chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators for leadership in business communication.
Recently, HUL has been on an acquisition spree– it acquired companies such as OZiva and MDH Spices, among others. As Jawa steps into the shoes of Mehta he will have to further scale the legacy created by Mehta in acquisitions, D2C expansions and digital transformation.
Rohit has a bachelor's degree from St Stephen's College and an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, both at the University of Delhi, India. He is an alumnus of IMD Business School, Lausanne, Switzerland, where he completed the Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives in 2018. Rohit has also completed the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 2022.
