HUL Onboards Arun Neelakantan As Exc Director Of Customer Development

FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) announced a major change to its Management Committee. Arun Neelakantan, currently serving as the Chief Digital Officer, has been appointed as the Executive Director of Customer Development, effective 1 July 2024. He will be succeeding Kedar Lele, who is leaving to pursue an external opportunity, according to a filing with the stock exchange.

Neelakantan began his career at HUL in 2006 as a key account manager in modern trade. He holds a bachelor's degree from IIT Madras, a master's from Penn State University, and an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB).

Throughout his tenure at HUL, Neelakantan has demonstrated a strong track record, leading large teams and driving significant change initiatives in customer development and marketing across various areas, including general trade, modern trade, customer marketing, and brand building.

As the regional manager leading HUL’s largest branch in Chennai, Neelakantan consistently delivered market-beating growth. Under his leadership, the southern region launched several innovative initiatives for customer development in India, leveraging deep consumer insights and execution excellence.

Neelakantan has also been instrumental in accelerating HUL’s digital transformation program across consumer, customer, and operations ecosystems. He has enhanced the data and digital capabilities for category and e-commerce teams, strengthening HUL’s overall digital infrastructure.