A commerce graduate from Nagpur University, member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of lndia, Sanjiv MEHTA has also completed the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School. He started his career in 1983 with Union Carbide in lndia where he held various management positions in finance, audit, and sales.

ln 1992, he joined Unilever in Dubai and then became Group Commercial Manager. At the end of 1998, he moved to Bangladesh as Commercial Director of Unilever Bangladesh Limited and in early 2002 he became the Chairman and Managing Director. ln 2007, he moved to the Philippines as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Philippines Inc; and the following year he was appointed as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Unilever North Africa and Middle East region where he oversaw Unilever’s business in 20 countries. From 2013 to 2023, he led Unilever’s businesses in South Asia including Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Unilever’s listed subsidiary and lndia’s largest FMCG company. ln 2019, while continuing to lead South Asia he joined Unilever Leadership Executive (Unilever’s Global Executive Board) as President South Asia. His tenure in India and South Asia came to an end on June 26, 2023. Under his leadership of ten years, HUL in India more than doubled its turnover, improved its EBITDA margin by 860 bps and increased its market capitalization by five times to $76  billion. During his various leadership positions in Unilever, he substantially accelerated the growth and profitability of the group companies. Besides building distinctive capabilities he also ensured a big impact through various social and environmental initiatives.

ln addition, he has also served as a non-executive Director of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and lndustry between 2015 and 2019 and, between 2021 and 2022, he was President of lndia’s largest industry body, the Federation of lndian Chambers of Commerce and lndustry (FICCI). He also served as a Board member of the Breach Candy Hospital Trust, between 2014 and 2023, and as a Director of the lndian School of Business between 2018 and 2023. Sanjiv Mehta is also a member of the South Asia Advisory Committee of Harvard Business School of India and Chairman Emeritus of Vikaasa, a coalition of lndian and multinational companies formed to help solve some of the major challenges facing lndia.

In 2024, he has entered into a partnership with the investment fund L Catterton to develop a new investment vehicle aimed at investing in consumer facing enterprises in India.