Hindustan Unilever (HUL) announced the appointment of Niranjan Gupta as Chief Financial Officer – Designate and member of the HUL Management Committee with effect from Sept 1, 2025. In this position, he will report to Priya Nair, CEO & MD, HUL.
He will take over from Ritesh Tiwari as Executive Director, Finance & Chief Financial Officer (CFO), HUL and join the HUL Board from 1st November 2025, subject to necessary approvals. Ritesh Tiwari is appointed as the Global Head of M&A and Treasury, Unilever Plc, effective 1st November 2025 and will be based in London.
Niranjan began his career with HUL and spent 20 years across several leadership roles in the company. A seasoned business leader, Niranjan brings strong experience across finance, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, and strategic roles in diverse industries. Following his stint with HUL, he spent three years at Vedanta and then joined Hero MotoCorp in 2017 as CFO. He was subsequently elevated to CEO in 2023. Niranjan played a pivotal role in strengthening the financial health of their business, creating a strategy for the long term and establishing strategic partnerships, including a collaboration with Harley Davidson.
Ritesh took over as Executive Director, Finance and CFO of HUL in 2021 and helped steer the company through the COVID pandemic, ensuring sustained growth while protecting the financial growth model. Ritesh allocated capital in line with the company’s strategic priorities to drive competitive volume-led growth amid volatile market conditions. He led key acquisitions, disposals and partnerships that have helped in sharpening the portfolio and making HUL future-ready. More recently, he steered the Ice Cream business demerger into Kwality Walls (India), paving the way for its independent listing, subject to regulatory approvals.
Priya Nair, CEO & MD, HUL, said, “I would like to thank Ritesh for his future-focused leadership and invaluable contribution to HUL. He led our 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. 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.”
