MAM
Amrita Purkayastha named cmo of OZiva and Liquid I.V
The Unilever marketer, who led TRESemmé brand strategy for South Asia, takes charge of two digital-native wellbeing brands
Amrita Purkayastha asked for bigger challenges and got them. The data-obsessed marketer has been named chief marketing officer of OZiva and Liquid I.V at Unilever, a post she took up in August 2026. She is also head of marketing for VMS, India, at Hindustan Unilever (HUL), where she leads digital-native wellbeing brands. New role, new chapter, bigger bets.
The move is a statement about where Unilever sees growth. Wellbeing is a crowded aisle, and digital-native brands have to win attention and trust at speed. Purkayastha, whose career runs across FMCG, entertainment and technology, is well placed to lead. She describes herself as a culture enthusiast, GIF lover and storyteller. “Turns out, asking for bigger challenges has consequences,” she says. Her sign-off is upbeat: “Here’s to building something meaningful. And having some fun along the way!”
She arrives with a deep Unilever bench. In all, she has spent 4 years and 11 months at the company. From January 2024 to August 2026 she was senior global brand lead for TRESemmé, leading brand strategy, communication and innovation for South Asia. Before that, from January 2022 to December 2023, she was marketing manager for Lakme.
Her entertainment credentials are just as solid. At Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, where she spent 3 years, she was associate director from May 2021 to January 2022. Before that she was brand lead for Zee TV from February 2019 to April 2021, running content and channel marketing for the leading Hindi speaking market channel. There she led a team of brand managers to craft show launches and brand campaigns.
The grounding came at Godrej Consumer Products Limited, where she spent 6 years and 9 months. She was senior brand manager for Goodknight from January 2018 to February 2019, leading the multi-format portfolio of Goodknight personal repellents and group-level projects on influencer marketing and digital campaigns. As brand manager for BBLUNT premium hair colour from April 2016 to September 2018, she led the global brand launch of BBLUNT Salon Secret, the company’s foray into premium hair colour, with a campaign featuring Kareena Kapoor. She worked on every aspect of the launch, from product and pack development to go-to-market strategy, media and PR, and led multiple award-winning digital and integrated marketing campaigns.
As innovation manager for premium hair care from January 2015 to April 2016, she worked with top hair stylists on first-in-India products such as dry shampoo, temp colours and shine spray, several of which have won industry awards. As area sales manager from May 2013 to January 2015, she led the Chennai Upcountry (rural Tamil Nadu) team, with average monthly business of Rs 10 crore, to become the second most successful area sales manager team nationally for the company in FY 14-15. She led 10 direct reports and 70 indirect team members. Her management trainee stint from June 2012 to April 2013 took in international business development in Dubai, rural sales in Nanded, Maharashtra, and brand management. She had earlier been a summer intern in 2011, working on the FairGlow soap relaunch, and received a pre-placement offer.
Her career began in technology. From September 2008 to April 2010 she was a software developer at Infosys, working in .NET and SQL on projects for WellPoint, the biggest health benefits provider in the US, and managing the knowledge repository for a team of more than 20 developers. The mix of code, sales, brand and content marketing explains the data-first streak.
