Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has appointed Kedar Lele to the HUL management committee as executive director of customer development, effective 1 July 2021.
Currently, he serves as the chairman and managing director of Unilever Bangladesh.
Strong Track Record
Lele is an experienced professional who joined HUL in 2004 and demonstrated a strong performance track record over the last 17 years across customer development, marketing, and general management.
As the chairman of Unilever Bangladesh, Lele strengthened CD execution and transformed the company’s end-to-end supply chain.
He also led the transition of the GSK business into Unilever Consumer Care Limited in Bangladesh.
Before his role in Bangladesh, Lele was responsible for leading the e-commerce and modern trade business and overseeing the customer development centre of excellence for HUL.
'Next Level Of Performance'
Commenting on the appointment, Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of HUL, said, “I am delighted to welcome [Lele] to the HUL Management Committee. Under his leadership, the Bangladesh business made great all-around progress – be it in CD coverage expansion, the transformation of our supply chain, or setting up sustainable models for market development.
“I would especially like to laud [Lele]’s efforts towards developing talent and improving diversity in the Bangladesh business. I am certain that Lele will take the HUL customer development function to the next level of performance.”
Lele succeeds Srinandan Sundaram, who will move into his new role as executive director of the foods and refreshment division.
Sundaram joined HUL as a management trainee in 1999 and played an instrumental role in customer development and marketing over the last 22 years.
In his current role, he has been at the forefront of bringing in leading-edge technology and transforming the company’s customer development system into a ‘High Tech – High Touch team’.
Under his leadership, the company launched the Shikhar app, which lent a competitive edge to the business, especially during the pandemic, and is currently one of the largest eB2B apps in India.
