Harish Manwani joins Blackstone as global executive advisor

Harish Manwani, former top executive of Unilever, has joined investment major Blackstone as a global executive advisor.
In the new role, he would also the advise management of teams of Blackstone's Indian portfolio companies.
Manwani, who had served as Chief Operating Officer at Unilever, retired from the FMCG giant at the end of 2014.
"As a global executive advisor, Manwani will assist and guide selected Blackstone portfolio companies across the world and help in diligencing investment opportunities.
"In addition, he will help guide portfolio operations and advise the management teams of Blackstone's Indian portfolio companies," Blackstone said in a statement today.

Manwani is the non-executive Chairman of Hindustan Unilever and serves on several international boards, including Qualcomm, Pearson and Whirlpool.

He spent 38 years with Unilever in various senior general management positions including overseeing the company's businesses in Latin America, North America and Asia.
Blackstone's Global Head of Portfolio Operations David Calhoun said Manwani's wide ranging general management experience and particular expertise in developing markets would give the firm enormous leverage in some of the fastest growing markets in the world.
"I look forward to working closely with the leadership of the portfolio companies to further raising the bar on operational excellence and value creation," Manwani said about his new role.

A leading investment firm, Blackstone has almost USD 300 billion in assets under management.