Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (LON:RB) today announced the appointment of Laxman Narasimhan as Chief Executive Officer to succeed Rakesh Kapoor. He will join the Company as CEO-designate and be appointed to the Board as an Executive Director effective 16 July 2019. He will become Group CEO with effect from 1 September 2019.
Laxman joins RB from PepsiCo where he is currently the Global Chief Commercial Officer responsible for PepsiCo’s integrated long-term growth strategy. He has been a member of the PepsiCo executive committee for the last four years reporting to the Chairman and Chief Executive. He leads Strategy, Global Category Groups, Global R&D and is implementing an advanced digital capability across the PepsiCo business.
Laxman will serve as Group Chief Executive Officer at RB, while also directly leading the Health Business Unit.
Chris Sinclair, Chairman of the Board, commented:
“The Board is delighted to have appointed Laxman as our new Chief Executive Officer after a thorough and rigorous global selection process from a strong bench of internal and external candidates.
The Board prioritised four main criteria in its selection process:
– Demonstrated operational leadership at scale and cultural fit
– Strong consumer orientation and relevant experience in our categories
– Strategic capability to lead the business into the next decade under RB2.0
– Commitment to our purpose and corporate responsibility
Laxman is an outstanding leader who brings wide experience across the consumer goods sector, both operationally at scale, and from his time at McKinsey. He has led complex operational businesses and inspired teams across developed and emerging markets to achieve market-leading performance.
Laxman has exceptional strategic capabilities and consumer insight with a proven track record in developing purpose-led brands and driving consumer centric and digital innovation. This, combined with his excellent people engagement and leadership skills, gives the Board confidence that he will continue to evolve the strong culture of RB and deliver outperformance.
Laxman’s initial priorities will be to focus on delivering outperformance, especially in the Health business unit, and to drive RB2.0.
I would like to thank Rakesh for his continued leadership of the business and express my gratitude for his commitment and enormous contribution to RB over more than three decades. Rakesh and Laxman will work together over the coming weeks to ensure a seamless leadership transition and handover.”
Laxman Narasimhan commented:
“I’m delighted to be joining RB as the next Chief Executive Officer at an exciting time for the business. 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.”
The company confirms there is no further information to be disclosed under the requirements of listing rule 9.6.13R in relation to Laxman’s appointment.
