Reckitt Benckiser (RB) has named Laxman Narasimhan as its next Chief Executive Officer, to succeed Rakesh Kapoor later this year.
Laxman will join the British company’s board next month from PepsiCo, where he is currently the Global Chief Commercial Officer responsible for the soft drink giant’s long-term growth strategy. He will become RB’s new group CEO on 1 September and will also take direct charge of its main Health business unit.
Kapoor announced in January that he would stepping down in 2019 after more than eight years in the lead role and 32 years at the company.
Narasimhan is joining RB at a crucial time as it pushes to accelerate sales growth and adapt to changing consumer habits. He is described as an industry veteran with a strong record in both mature and emerging markets.
Prior to his current role, Narasimhan headed PepsiCo’s Latin America, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa operations, managing annual sales of £14.5bn. Before joining PepsiCo in 2012, he spent 19 years working as a consultant at McKinsey, where he advised large retail, healthcare and consumer goods companies on operations, strategies and M&As.
RB’s Chairman Chris Sinclair highlighted that Narasimhan had “exceptional strategic capabilities and consumer insight with a proven track record in developing purpose-led brands and driving consumer centric and digital innovation”.
He will initially focus on “delivering outperformance”, particularly in the company’s Health business unit, and drive its transformation plan, RB2.0, which has seen it create two end-to-end accountable business units covering health and hygiene.
Commenting on his appointment, Narasimhan commented: “It is a special company with a long history of outperformance, creating innovative products and iconic brands which improve the health and lives of people across the globe. I’m looking forward to working with an exceptional group of leaders over the coming years to continue to transform RB.”
PepsiCo revealed Narasimhan will be succeeded as Global Chief Commercial Officer by Ram Krishnan, who is currently CEO of its Greater China business.
