Colgate-Palmolive Taps Kenvue Executive Anandani As India CEO

Colgate-Palmolive India announced on Friday that it has appointed Manish Anandani, currently with Kenvue, as managing director and chief executive officer of its India unit, effective September 28. The appointment comes as the toothpaste maker looks to premium products and e-commerce to drive growth in an increasingly competitive consumer goods market.

Prabha Narasimhan, who currently serves as CEO and MD of Colgate-Palmolive India, will move into a new role as executive vice president of marketing for the company's Asia-Pacific division, the company said.

Anandani is joining from Kenvue, the consumer health company that was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, where he most recently headed the India and South Asia region during a four-year stint. Before that, he held senior positions at Johnson & Johnson. Anandani also spent close to 13 years at Colgate-Palmolive earlier in his career, working across India and international markets, with experience in e-commerce and retail strategy.

Following the announcement on Friday, Colgate-Palmolive India's shares fell about 1%.

The leadership change comes at a time when Colgate-Palmolive India is leaning heavily on e-commerce as part of its premiumisation push. The company said premium products now make up more than half of its e-commerce sales.

Narasimhan has led Colgate-Palmolive India as managing director and CEO for close to four years, having previously held senior leadership positions within the consumer products industry. During her time at the helm, the company's shares rose 14.5%, outperforming the Nifty FMCG index, which gained close to 9% over the same period.

This also comes two days after TOI reported that the company could push through fresh price increases over the next few quarters as it works to shield profit margins from a rise in raw material costs tied to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Speaking at the company's annual investor day, Narasimhan had said inflationary pressure continues to weigh on the business, even as the company tries to keep essential products affordable for lower-income buyers. She noted that extra product quantity added to smaller pack sizes last year, following the GST rate cut, has not been rolled back.

"We have ring-fenced the most vulnerable consumers," Narasimhan said, as quoted by TOI.

Narasimhan had pointed to the company's ₹10 and ₹20 packs as examples where the added quantity has stayed in place, calling them strong value propositions for buyers. Price hikes so far have stayed modest, in the low single digits, over recent quarters. Going forward, the company intends to lean on packaging upgrades and a better overall product experience to keep its main brands competitive.