Now Reading: Colgate India names Manish Anandani as new CEO in leadership change
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Colgate India names Manish Anandani as new CEO in leadership change
Colgate India names Manish Anandani as new CEO in leadership change
Colgate-Palmolive India has appointed Manish Anandani as its new managing director and CEO, effective 28 September 2026, replacing Prabha Narasimhan. Narasimhan will step down on 27 September to take up the role…
Colgate-Palmolive India has appointed Manish Anandani as its new managing director and CEO, effective 28 September 2026, replacing Prabha Narasimhan. Narasimhan will step down on 27 September to take up the role of executive vice president, marketing, Asia-Pacific Division at the global parent company. The changes were announced in an exchange filing on 21 August.
Anandani, who previously worked at Colgate from 2005 to 2018, returns after serving as managing director of Kenvue India, formerly Johnson & Johnson. Livemint reports that he brings three decades of experience in strategy, digital transformation and market expansion. Narasimhan, who joined Colgate from Hindustan Unilever in 2022, led the company through a period of premiumisation and competitive pressure from brands like Dabur Red and Patanjali's Dant Kanti. Colgate global CEO Noel Wallace had acknowledged the company's misstep with its ayurvedic product Ved Shakti, and the firm has since refocused on science-led innovation.
Narasimhan herself flagged the underperformance of the Palmolive brand in her final analyst address on 17 August. Analysts at Nuvama said the leadership change removes an overhang for the stock, and that Anandani's appointment is well-planned. Colgate India shares were trading 19% lower than a year ago, compared to a 3% decline in the Nifty 50.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Livemint's two versions of the story are both neutral-report in tone, presenting the facts of the leadership change, Anandani's background, and Narasimhan's move to a regional role without editorialising. The first version adds context about competitive pressures and Palmolive's weak performance, including Narasimhan's own admission of disappointment, while the second focuses on Anandani's profile and the regulatory details of the resignation. Neither version criticises the company or the outgoing CEO. The coverage is uniform straight reporting. The key takeaway is that this is a planned succession, not a crisis-driven exit, and the stock market's muted reaction suggests investors are watching how Anandani will address the competitive and portfolio challenges Narasimhan flagged.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): livemint.com (neutral report), livemint.com (2) (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
