When Hindustan Unilever (HUL) tapped Priya Nair as its new managing director and chief executive officer from August 1, 2025, it marked a historic milestone. It was for the first time in its 92-year history that a woman would helm India’s largest FMCG company. Ms Nair’s appointment caps a 30-year journey from a junior manager to the top seat – one built on brand-building, market insight and global stewardship.

A commerce graduate from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai,
Ms Nair went on to earn her MBA in marketing from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. She further polished her corporate leadership credentials at Harvard Business School.

She joined HUL in 1995 as a consumer insights manager, a starting point in a company where she would steadily climb. She later handled brand-management responsibilities for major names like Dove, Rin and Comfort. By 2007, she was general manager and in 2009 had responsibility of customer development in HUL’s western region.

Ms Nair took on increasingly senior roles, from executive director for home care to beauty and personal care. She then stepped into global leadership at parent Unilever, first as global chief marketing officer for beauty and well-being and later as president of beauty and well-being. At the peak of her global role, she was overseeing a portfolio worth around 13 billion euros across hair-care, skincare, prestige beauty and well-being brands across more than 20 overseas markets.

Now, as Ms Nair steps into the top job at HUL, she must navigate a landscape quite different from the one she entered three decades ago. The broader consumer goods industry in India is grappling with sluggish volume growth, especially across food and beverage segments.

Besides, over the past decade, HUL’s once-unquestioned dominance with a 30 per cent share of the broader Indian FMCG market has come under steady pressure from its numerous competitors – big and small. ITC has expanded aggressively beyond cigarettes, capturing meaningful share in soaps, shampoos and especially foods, leveraging its distribution muscle and price-value positioning. Godrej Consumer Products has strengthened its hold in hair colour and household insecticides – the two categories where HUL traditionally led –through sharper innovation cycles and strong urban-mass appeal.

Besides, rise of D2C brands such as Mamaearth, Wow Skin Science, Beardo and Minimalist has disrupted premium skin and hair-care by targeting younger consumers with ingredient-led propositions and digital-first marketing. Meanwhile, regional and local brands across detergents, soaps, packaged foods and household cleaners have gained share in inflationary periods by offering high-quality, low-price alternatives tailored to local preferences.

Ms Nair will have to revive HUL’s growth momentum, protect its market share  and redefine its relevance among younger, aspirational consumers with shifting preferences. Yet, in her three-decade corporate journey, Ms Nair is no stranger to reinvention, scaling up or strategic pivoting. In taking HUL’s reins,
Ms Nair is not just breaking a glass ceiling. She is scripting a new chapter in the company’s story by taking on innumerable challenges head on.