P&G names Kumar Venkatasubramanian as India CEO

Procter and Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd this week named Kumar Venkatasubramanian as its India chief executive officer (CEO), a stock exchange filing showed on Monday.

Venkatasubramanian will take over from L. V. Vaidyanathan at the company, which makes products including Head & Shoulders and Pantene range of shampoos and Whisper sanitary pads, starting 1 May, the filing said.

Since 2020, Venkatasubramanian has been CEO of P&G Australia and New Zealand, where he led robust growth across categories, the company said.

Venkatasubramanian’s appointment is subject to approval from shareholders.

The announcement of Venkatasubramanian’s appointment came after Vaidyanathan announced his resignation from the managing director’s post.

An MBA graduate from Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta, Venkatasubramanian did his Bachelor of Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur.

Venkatasubramanian began his career with P&G in 2000 as a hire in the sales function and worked his way up to lead complex categories of businesses in India, Brazil, and Australia.

Until 2020, he led the P&G India sales function and the oral care category.

Venkatasubramanian has experience leading large and diverse teams, which complements his strong business acumen, P&G said.

In the year to March 2023, P&G Hygiene and Health Care had reported an after-tax profit of ₹678 crore on a revenue of ₹3,918 crore