Paranjpe to be new Unilever COO, Mehta elevated as President of South Asia

Paranjpe will be the second-in-command after current CEO Alan Jope, responsible for all of Unilever's go-to-market activities, apart driving growth across countries

Unilever, the world’s second-largest consumer goods company, said on Thursday that it was promoting Nitin Paranjpe, president, foods & refreshment, to the position of chief operating officer (COO), making the 56-year-old only the second Indian after Harish Manwani to be elevated to this role. 

The British-Dutch firm also elevated Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of Indian subsidiary Hindustan Unilever (HUL), as the company's South Asia president. Both the changes will be effective from May 1.

Manwani, who retired last year as non-executive chairman of HUL, was Unilever COO between 2011 and 2014, and was the second most powerful executive