Priya Nair (HUL)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Priya Nair

• She was born in a middle-class Malayali family.

• Priya Nair started working at Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in 1995 in the sales and marketing departments.

  

• She has worked on major HUL brands such as Surf, Wheel, Axe, Dove, and Close Up, leading them to strong growth.

  

• She has led key initiatives in digital and rural marketing for HUL. She created Kan Khajura Tesan, a mobile radio service with over 30 million users, which won three Cannes Gold Lions.

  

• She developed HUL’s Perfect Village and Rural Marketing Program.

  

• In a 2022 interview, she named her mother as her strongest female role model, who is a doctor and runs a small, low-cost clinic in Mumbai.

• Her mother continued to serve during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after contracting the virus. Nair learned two leadership values from her mother, inner purpose and lifelong learning. Even in her late 70s, her mother attends medical seminars, takes notes, and updates her knowledge.

• It played a key role in Nair joining the Harvard Executive Leadership Program from Harvard Business School after 25 years of work experience, to improve her leadership skills.

• In 2022, she moved to London because of her official responsibilities.

  

• On 10 July 2025, HUL officially announced Priya Nair as the next CEO and Managing Director of the company. She will take over as CEO and MD on 1 August 2025, after Rohit Jawa steps down on 31 July 2025.

  

• She has been appointed for a fixed tenure of five years as CEO and MD of HUL.

• After receiving required approvals, she will also join the Board of Directors of Hindustan Unilever. She will continue to remain a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) globally.

• She has received several awards and has been listed among the top women marketers in India and the top 25 most powerful women in Indian business.

  

• She has also worked with other associations such as the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).

• She revealed in an interview that she has followed two guiding principles, excellence in strategic thinking and strong execution skills. Some managerial-level people of HUL claimed that she would be an aggressive MD.