It came as a shock to some when Hindustan Unilever announced that its next CEO would be a woman. But it shouldn’t have. Unilever veteran Priya Nair was always the frontrunner for the company’s top job in India. In fact, she narrowly missed landing it two years ago when it was last up for grabs.

Nair has been a Hindustan Unilever (HUL) star almost from the day she joined the Rs 60,000-crore consumer products company that fills the shelves of supermarkets and kirana stores across India.

Since 2022, she’s been based in London where, as Business Group President, she has overseen Unilever’s enormous $15-billion global Beauty & Wellness portfolio. She steered the division into premium segments and expanded newer acquisitions, like hydration brand Liquid I.V., into new markets.

“She’s a transformative leader, and her understanding of marketing and branding is top class,” says Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Group. Nair was on the board of Goenka’s tyremaker CEAT, and he praises her effusively, adding, “She’s a good person and an authentic leader. She had strategic clarity in whatever initiatives she undertook.”

Nair joined HUL in 1995 as a consumer insights manager and quickly built a reputation for her brand-centric and consumer-first approach. Over the years, she has managed some of HUL’s most iconic products including Dove, Rin, and Comfort.

Amazingly, though, Nair’s most famous initiative during her earlier days at HUL was probably not a product launch. It was an innovative – but oddly named – rural radio service called Kan Khajura Tesan. That translates – if it isn’t immediately clear – to Earthworm Radio Channel.

The service was aimed at impoverished listeners in remote villages with little connectivity. They could place a missed call and receive 15 minutes of music, jokes, and brand messaging. Earthworm Radio fell on rich soil: in its first seven months, it reached over 11 million subscribers, its ads were heard more than 100 million times and it won three prestigious Cannes Gold Lions.

“She combined storytelling with technology in a way few Indian marketers had done before,” said a senior executive who worked with her at the time. “She made the brands feel human.”

What inspired Nair to launch a digital radio? On a trip to rural Tamil Nadu, she spotted a poor farmer buying Comfort fabric conditioner, a premium product usually sold in urban markets. The farmer said it gave clothes a newer feel. That moment made Nair realise that premium products could be sold to less affluent consumers than marketers typically assumed.

“They may not use fabric conditioners every day, but some do use it once or even twice a month. As aspirations begin to change, consumers start upgrading,” she observed. “Consumer brands only win if they listen,” she says.

She calls her mother – “Dr. Mom,” a physician who spent her career caring for patients from less affluent backgrounds – her “strongest female role model” and notes that her mother raised “two successful daughters.” Her sister is a surgical oncologist in Mumbai.

Make no mistake – Nair has a tough task ahead. HUL’s growth has slowed sharply in recent years and it’s lost some of its sheen as one of Unilever’s brightest stars. Current CEO Rohit Jawa hasn’t been able to restore its glow and is stepping down after just two years, barely halfway through his term. He’s expected to leave the company altogether.

But Nair’s reputation is solid in both Mumbai and London where she lives with her entrepreneur husband, Manmohan Nair, and their teenage daughter Mehak. HUL shares jumped 4.6 per cent when news of her return to India became public, and rose 7.7 per cent last week. “She comes with a strong track record,” said Citi Research on an optimistic note. Nair will continue in her global role as a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive.

Her experience in beauty and wellness – both in India and globally – will be crucial in the months ahead. Online competitors like Nykaa have grown strongly, and foreign beauty brands are muscling into India. At one end, upmarket Indian consumers want greater variety and newer products. At the other end, private labels are targeting budget-conscious buyers.

In fact, HUL is facing sharp competition in nearly all its sectors: beauty, soaps, foods – even packaged tea. As a result, HUL’s average volume growth has dropped to just 2 per cent.

The slowdown has been reflected in the stock price: after doubling in the six years to 2023, it has since fallen by a tenth. Globally too, Unilever’s performance has weakened, and there are occasional calls for it to be broken up. It has already separated its ice cream division and plans to list it as a standalone public company. It may also sell some of its US ice cream brands.

Goenka is unstinting in his admiration for Nair, saying she shows empathy but can be hardnosed when required. “She’s a toughie, not a soft leader or anything like that. She works through her mind and her heart – so that’s a nice combination.”

On a similar note, Rediffusion chief Sandeep Goyal, who worked with her on several campaigns, describes her as “extremely fast on the uptake” and “a very tough negotiator.” He adds, “I, however, loved the fact that she could so easily say ‘no’ with a nice warm smile. The steel has a silky sheath, for sure.”

What changes will Nair kick off in the coming months? Analysts expect her to introduce new brands from Unilever’s vast global cupboard. HUL will also need to sharpen its online performance and engage more deeply with social media influencers and digital marketing.

It’s worth noting that Priya Nair isn’t the first woman star performer at HUL. Before her, there was Leena Nair (née Menon), who rose to become Unilever’s global Chief Human Resources Officer. Leena, a potential HUL chief, left the company and is now global CEO of Chanel, the French luxury giant. She has emphasised the human side of leadership and aims to remember the names and faces of as many of Chanel’s 20,000 employees as possible.

By a startling coincidence, both Priya and Leena Nair come from Malayalee families settled in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

Could Priya Nair rise even higher? At 53, she still has time on her side. Might she one day become the first Indian woman to head Unilever globally? It’s a long journey and many challenges lie ahead – but it’s far from inconceivable.