United Spirits appoints Anand Kripalu to its board

Move comes close after Kripalu was elevated to be part of Diageo's global Executive Committee

United Spirits, India's largest spirits company controlled by global spirits major Diageo, has appointed its CEO Anand Kripalu as MD & CEO for a period of five years subject to approval of the shareholders at the next General Meeting.

Kripalu thus will also be on the board of United Spirits shall not be liable to retire by rotation as long as he holds the position of Managing Director.

This move to appoint Kripalu to the board of USL comes close after he was elevated to be part of Diageo's global Executive Committee as well.

Diageo currently owns close to 54% in United Spirits and Kripalu, a veteran in the FMCG sector, was chosen by Diageo to steer United Spirits ahead.

Anand Kripalu prior to coming on board at United Spirits was President, India and South Asia at Mondelez International. In this position, Kripalu played a key role in leading Mondelez in India after the Cadbury acquisition by Kraft.

He joined Cadbury India at the end of 2005 as Managing Director, Indian Sub-Continent and was subsequently appointed President, Cadbury Asia in October 2008. Prior to this, Kripalu worked with Unilever for 22 years.