Vadilal Ropes in Himanshu Kanwar as First Non-Family CEO
Vadilal Industries, an ice cream manufacturing company, has named Himanshu Kanwar, a former Hindustan Unilever Limited executive, as its inaugural chief executive officer from outside the founding family. The appointment spans five years beginning September 29, 2025.
Following this announcement, Vadilal's stock price experienced a significant uptick, climbing more than four percent during trading sessions.
Kanwar brings extensive experience as a former HUL executive specializing in consumer business operations.
Throughout his career, he has managed senior positions spanning food, beverage, and personal care sectors, notably serving as the Ice Cream Business Head at Hindustan Unilever. Additionally, he held the position of Global Brand Director overseeing HUL's South Asian haircare product line. He currently serves as General Manager at XTO10X.
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"He combines classical brand-building expertise with new-age digital fluency, making him uniquely positioned to drive innovation, market transformation, and sustainable value creation," Vadilal Industries says.
In March 2025, the founding family completed a restructuring process designed to distinguish between management operations and ownership control, announcing their plans to identify and propose candidates for CEO, CFO, and additional senior management positions.
This strategic decision will allow the organization to maintain its brand usage rights, thereby helping preserve its robust market position and efficiently satisfy customer needs.
The company has scheduled its 41st Annual General Meeting for September 19, recently announcing intentions for additional expansion and modernization efforts, including enhanced participation in the quick commerce sector.
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Vadilal Industries previously named Shiv Shivakumar as the chairman of its board of directors. Shivakumar launched his professional journey as a management trainee in Hindustan Ciba Geigy's consumer products division before transitioning to Hindustan Unilever Limited, where he worked for 19 years across sales, marketing and general management roles. In 2003, he joined Philips, India as the chief executive officer for the consumer electronics division.
Shivakumar's tenure at Nokia began as managing director, eventually advancing to senior vice president for emerging markets. During his leadership at Nokia, he developed the company's complete services portfolio, which included Nokia Life Tools.
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Shivakumar took on the role of chairperson and CEO at PepsiCo Holdings Private Limited, India in 2013, overseeing brand portfolios spanning beverages, snacks and nutrition. His responsibilities also extended to managing PepsiCo's franchise operations throughout Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Shivakumar became part of Aditya Birla Group in 2018 as group executive president for corporate strategy. Additionally, he has served as chairperson for both the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and Burger King.