Colgate Palmolive India appoints Kenvue exec as MD and CEO

Aug. 21 (Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive India on Friday appointed Kenvue executive Manish Anandani as its managing director and chief executive officer, effective September 28.

The move comes as the Indian unit of the U.S.-based consumer major bets on premiumisation as a driver of growth in the country, and India's consumer industry increasingly moves toward e-commerce as a primary channel.

Anandani was most recently managing director for India and South Asia at Kenvue, which was spun off from pharma giant Johnson & Johnson's consumer business and listed in 2023. Prior to his four-year stint at the company, he held various executive positions at Johnson & Johnson.

Before that, he spent nearly 13 years at Colgate-Palmolive, both in the India unit and the global company, specializing in e-commerce and retail strategy.

The Indian unit of the U.S.-based consumer major added that current CEO and MD Prabha Narasimhan had been promoted to a leadership position within the global company.

Narasimhan served as managing director and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive India for nearly four years, having held senior leadership roles in the consumer products industry.

The company's shares fell 1% after the announcement.