40 managerial rank officials hired in HUL last year

FMCG player Hindustan Unilever (HUL) today said that around 40 executives of managerial rank were hired by its parent company Unilever last year to serve globally.

At present, over 140 HUL managers, representing about 10 per cent of its total managerial strength, serve Unilever's operations worldwide, HUL said in response to an email query.

"The number of managers expatriated has been increasing steadily over the last few years. For example, in 2004 HUL had expatriated 10 managers from HUL to Unilever, 18 in 2005, 31 in 2006, 28 in 2007 and about 40 in 2008," a company spokesperson said.

The company, however, refused to divulge details regarding expatriation plans for 2009.

The HUL spokesperson said that India has been one of the major centres for attracting talent and Unilever has found it an ideal place to implement its operating framework of 'One Unilever' under which regional managers are tapped for global operations.

"There are several factors that favor the strategic fit of talent from India. The strong heritage and the solid talent and value culture of the company in India combined with the scale and complexity of the business and the experience of operating in a tough competitive market scenario are some of the key reasons," the company said.

Among the HUL officials who have been recruited for global roles are HUL Chairman Harish Manwani and former Chairman Vindi Banga, both of whom serve on the top executive team of Unilever.

Besides, HUL Executive Director Sanjiv Kakkar serves as Unilever Chairman for Russia and Baltics and former HUL MD of the Home and Personal Care business Arun Adhikari is presently serving as Unilever Chairman for Japan and Korea, the company added.