An upended market is ending the era of long-serving consumer, retail CEOs in India

Market watchers noted ongoing “structural” changes in the industry, where companies face intense competition, distribution channels are evolving and young consumers are rewriting the rules on how goods are sold to them.

Talent executives said the industry could see even more volatility in the coming months and quarters.

Sunil Duggal, former CEO of domestic FMCG company Dabur India, explained that the operating environment of consumer goods companies has changed dramatically during and after the pandemic. Duggal served as CEO of the listed company for nearly two decades before resigning in 2019.

Duggal said businesses like flash commerce and digital marketing basically promote new-age skills. He said it makes sense to hire people who are more “connected” to those areas. As a result, company boards are also pushing for a generational change at the top level. “Boards think it’s time for a new generation of CEOs who can connect with today’s youth in terms of marketing, advertising and distribution.”

He said the pace of change was manageable a decade ago, but not anymore. “During my time in office, the working environment has changed, but not as much as it is today. I inherited a pure GT (general commerce) environment, then MT (modern commerce) came along and we took care of that without changing too much in the business model. While we had e-commerce, grocery was not the primary focus of those platforms.”

However, he noted that as it evolves, e-commerce, and especially flash commerce, is becoming truly disruptive. “This has changed the entire grocery go-to-market ecosystem like nothing before.”

Although still small, flash trading contributed almost a third to online FMCG sales in India, which rose 56% to Rs 9,800 crore in the year ended May, according to Worldpanel from Numerator (formerly Kantar Worldpanel). The channel captures 2% to 7% of total sales in FMCG.

“This is clearly a time of transition; the old needs to give way to the new. It’s time for that to happen,” Duggal added.

Shaking continues

In recent months, there has been a wave of management changes in India’s consumer goods sector, ranging from traditional packaged goods to fashion and retail:

• Earlier this year, Hindustan Unilever Ltd announced the appointment of Priya Nair as CEO and managing director with effect from August 1, 2025, following the sudden departure of her predecessor Rohit Jawa after more than two years in the senior role.
• In October, lubricants maker Castrol India announced the departure of chief executive Kedar Lele with effect from December 31, 2025, citing Lele’s desire to pursue other opportunities; He was only appointed to this position in November 2024.
• Beauty and cosmetics company Loreal India has appointed its new country manager, Jacques Lebel, effective October 2, replacing Aseem Kaushik, who has assumed the newly created post of president. Kaushik was appointed as a medical doctor in 2023.
• Last week, biscuit maker Britannia Industries appointed Rakshit Hargave as its next managing director and CEO for a period of five years, effective December 15, 2025. Days later, Varun Berry stepped down as vice chairman and interim CEO after a 13-year tenure at the company.

CEO churn comes as discretionary spending remains under pressure, especially in urban markets. Packaged goods giant HUL said in its September quarter earnings call that macroeconomic conditions in India were not positive.

According to the company’s management, “Overall FMCG demand has weakened due to high food inflation, strained overall revenue, wage inflation and even weather conditions leading to slowdown.” It had reported flat volumes in the quarter due to the transition to new GST rates.

At the same time, given the country’s large and young population base, major global companies continue to increase their stakes in India, leading to stricter targets for business.

As a result, investors’ and boards’ expectations are “very high”, said PwC India retail and consumer products leader Ravi Kapoor. “There aren’t a lot of obvious opportunities at this size and scale.”

However, Kapoor cautioned against a volatile demand environment.

“Demand patterns are highly variable today and the added challenge of channel fragmentation adds to this challenge,” he said. “Household debt levels have actually risen, reaching 42% of GDP at the end of last year, roughly half what they were about nine years ago. Growth is now driven by capital spending and less consumption, which adds to the stress and companies need to find ways to offset that growth,” he said.

online shoppers

Meanwhile, the nature of demand has also changed.

Let’s illustrate this: According to a recent Deloitte report, more than 70% of Indian consumers trust digital channels and online marketplaces influence their purchasing decisions. While offline stores remain relevant (53%), peer recommendations (51%) and social media ads (49%) are also shaping spending behavior.

“In many categories, we typically had two or three players; now more direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are snapping up stakes in larger players,” said Anand Ramanathan, partner, consumer and retail, Deloitte India.

He said the traditional way of defining FMCG’s target audience (for example, a typical housewife between the ages of X and Y) is no longer valid. “There needs to be a deeper appreciation of millennial and Gen Z consumers.”

The story is not much different in retail. The fluctuation in the sector in recent months is very evident:

• Listed retailer Arvind Fashions Ltd has appointed Amisha Jain, recently MD of South Asia, Middle East and Africa at Levi’s, as its new managing director and CEO, effective August 13. Jain replaces Shailesh Chaturvedi, who took the job in 2021.
• Vineet Gautam left clothing retailer Bestseller India after 15 years and Sumit Dhingra, who previously worked at Crocs, took over on June 1.
• Manish Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Pepe Jeans India, moved to M&S India in February this year as MD. Rakesh Jallipally was appointed as the new CEO of Pepe in July 2025.
• Mint On October 31, it was reported that Ramprasad Sridharan, former MD and CEO of Benetton India, will take over as managing director of Puma India, replacing Karthik Balagopalan, who took over in May 2023.

“Earlier, retail was a very standalone, offline model… You were expected to increase footfall and brand appeal offline. Now a lot of it has moved online,” said Yeshab Giri, commercial manager, professional talent solutions, Randstad India, a talent company.

He added that this change in behavior, especially in a young and tech-savvy country, is pushing retailers to rethink leadership.

Many of these shoppers are spending more time online, moving beyond traditional media and well-known brands to trying new-age brands that better align with their values.

“In India, where the average age is around 28, people are extremely digitally savvy. They may not need to go into a store. So you need leaders who are equally digital,” Giri said.

New job skills

As a result, hiring guidelines have also changed, he said. “Companies are looking for candidates who have managed a lot of integration, meaning they have done a lot of physical scale-up but also digital expansion,” he said.

Rituparna Chakraborty, partner at executive search firm True Search India, said the FMCG business, once known to be dominated by stable, long-serving leaders, has changed structurally in a volatile environment marked by unpredictable consumer behavior and supply chain disruptions.

“Earlier FMCGs were built around tiered distribution networks. Now understanding this D2C playbook is non-negotiable,” said Chakraborty.

Another factor that causes leadership loss is the pressure to deliver results faster.

“Markets and shareholders have no patience. Conversion times have shortened significantly and the pressure to perform is huge,” he said.

Duggal acknowledged that long 15-20 year corner office stints are a thing of the past.

“This is a good thing. The industry needs leaders who can navigate this new world, not just those who can preserve the old,” he said.