Written on: June 18, 2019 by SprayTM
Laxman Narasimhan will be appointed CEO-designate of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB) on July 16 and Group CEO on September 1, as well as head of the Health Business Unit and Executive Director of the Board. Narasimhan hails from PepsiCo where he currently serves as Global Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Executive Committee.
He held a previous role with McKinsey as well.
“The Board is delighted to have appointed Laxman (Narasimhan) as our new CEO after a thorough and rigorous global selection process from a strong bench of internal and external candidates,” said Chris Sinclair, Chairman of the Board.
The Board based its decision on four criteria: demonstrated operational leadership at scale and cultural fit; strong consumer orientation and relevant experience in RB’s categories; strategic capability to lead the business into the next decade under the company’s RB2.0 initiative and a commitment to RB’s purpose and corporate responsibility.
Narasimhan’s initial priorities will be to focus on delivering outperformance in the Health business unit and driving the company’s RB2.0 initiative. Narasimhan succeeds Rakesh Kapoor.
“I would like to thank Rakesh (Kapoor) for his continued leadership of the business and express my gratitude for his commitment and enormous contribution to RB over more than three decades,” said Sinclair. “Rakesh and Laxman (Narasimhan) will work together over the coming weeks to ensure a seamless leadership transition and handover.”
