The P&G veteran will have to transform operations of the consumer goods company in India so as to capitalise on the strong growth prospects in the country
LV Vaidyanathan, CEO, Procter & Gamble India
Life has come full circle for LV Vaidyanathan.
After starting out as an intern at the global FMCG giant, Procter & Gamble (P&G), in 1995, Vaidyanathan has now been handed the baton to drive P&G’s growth in India, as the Cincinnati-headquartered consumer goods giant navigates its way out of a pandemic.
Vaidyanathan, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, will take over as the India head of P&G from July 1 after a successful stint in Indonesia where he led the group’s business through the Covid-19 pandemic. The 49-year-old started his started his career with P&G in 1995 as an intern and joined the sales team from campus in 1996. Since then, he has spent more than 26 years at the company across geographies, such as India and ASEAN countries including Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Under his leadership, the Indonesian business has transformed to become value accretive for the parent company and has overtaken a formidable competitor in the market by turning around the share gap in the last four years," the company said in a statement. P&G currently sells baby diapers, blades and razors, feminine care, shave prep, health care, skincare, and shampoos in India.
The company operates three entities in India, two listed and an unlisted arm that have a combined revenue of around Rs12,000 crore annually, roughly $1.5 billion. In contrast, P&G Global has an annual revenue of $76 billion, which means that the company is far lagging the massive opportunity in one of the world’s largest FMCG markets. India’s FMCG market is expected to grow $220 billion by 2025, from $110 billion in 2020, according to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation.