Harish Manwani

Harish Manwani was born in 1952, and is the chief operating officer of Unilever, non-executive chairman of Hindustan Unilever and a director of Whirlpool Corporation.Harish Manwani is an honors graduate from the Mumbai University and has a master's degree in management studies. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. He served as the Chairman of Unilever's Latin America Advisory Council.

In 1976, Manwani joined the then Hindustan Lever Limited. He became a member of the board and took the responsibility of Personal Products business as Director. He also took care of business group in Central Asia and Middle East.

He became Senior Vice President of Global Hair Care and Oral Care in 2001 and moved to the UK. The next year he was appointed President of Home and Personal Care of the Latin America division. He was also made Chairman of Unilever's Latin America Advisory Council.

He became President and CEO of HPC North America in 2004.

He joined Unilever in 2005 as President of Asia and Africa division. He was also made non-executive chairman of Hindustan Unilever.

He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business and serves on the Supervisory Board of ING Groep NV.

He was appointed as the global COO for Unilever in June 2011. He retired on December 31, 2014, after more than 38 years of service.

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with a heritage of over 80 years in India and touches the lives of two out of three Indians.

HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.

With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall’s and Pureit.

Contribution

Harish Manwani's professional contribution to the field of business is vast. He has always believed in the 'Think local, Act local' concept to achieve customer satisfaction. This helped in the development of his company. Nitin Paranjpe and Harish Manwani's shared vision contributed to HUL's growth story. HUL produces all fast moving consumable products.

AWARDS

• The Asia Business Leader of the Year in 2008 by CNBC Asia.