Rakshit Hargave named CEO and executive director of Britannia Industries

Former Birla Opus CEO Rakshit Hargave to take charge of Britannia Industries from December 15, bringing decades of global consumer sector experience

Biscuit major Britannia Industries has appointed Rakshit Hargave as the chief executive officer and executive director of the company for a period of five years, the food major said in a stock exchange filing.

 

His appointment shall be effective from the date of his joining the company on December 15 and is subject to the approval of members of the company.

 

Prior to this, Hargave was serving as the CEO at Birla Opus, the paints business of the Aditya Birla Group. 

 

“Hargave joined the Company in November 2021 and has played a significant role at the Birla Opus start-up stage of the decorative paints and the initial scaling up of the business. He has helped build a high-performing team and in this four-year phase, established six integrated manufacturing facilities, scaled distribution and supply chain networks nationwide,” Grasim Industries said in a stock exchange filing.

 

The stock exchange filing also said that, “These will form our strong foundation as the company grows its paint brand and business ahead. The board appreciated his contribution from the ‘Project to Launch’ Phase of Birla Opus and wished him best for future endeavours. Mr. Rakshit’s successor will be announced in due course of time.”

 

In the interim, Himanshu Kapania, managing director of the company, will directly oversee the paints business, the filing added. He is a veteran in the consumer industry, with experience both in India and overseas, the filing said. 

 

Hargave has worked with consumer companies, including Beiersdorf, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Jubilant Foodworks.

 

At the German skincare major, Beiersdorf, he headed operations in the Asean and ANZ regions. He also headed Africa operations and was the managing director at Nivea India.

 

He has worked at HUL as the sales and marketing director, Kimberly Clark Lever and chief operating officer, Lakme Lever. At Jubilant Foodworks, he was behind the launch of Domino’s Pizza’s 30 minute delivery model.

 

Hargave started his career with Tata Motors and then moved on to Nestle India. He holds an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi and also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi. He received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from IIT Varanasi.