Colgate India names Manish Anandani CEO as Prabha Narasimhan moves to APAC

MUMBAI: Colgate-Palmolive India is brushing up its top deck for the next growth phase. The company has appointed Manish Anandani as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 28, 2026, while incumbent MD and CEO Prabha Narasimhan moves to the role of Executive Vice President – Marketing, Asia-Pacific Division, Colgate-Palmolive, effective close of business on September 27.

The leadership change comes as Colgate-Palmolive India doubles down on premiumisation, digital commerce and category expansion while marking 90 years of operations in India.

Narasimhan has led the India business for four years, during which the company focused heavily on premium products, digital transformation and expanding its oral-care footprint across urban and rural markets. Under her tenure, premium portfolio growth accelerated to five times the pace of the broader market, alongside volume-led growth and continued profitability.

Her tenure also saw greater emphasis on e-commerce and quick commerce, which have emerged as important growth engines for the company. Colgate-Palmolive India said its e-commerce channel has been delivering high double-digit topline growth, with more than 50 per cent of sales coming from premium products.

The company said gross margins in the e-commerce channel are around 400 basis points higher than its overall company averages, making digital channels increasingly important not just for reach but also for premiumisation and profitability.

As Indian consumers increasingly shift towards rapid delivery, the company is looking to build on this momentum through stronger investments in brands, premium products and growth opportunities.

Narasimhan’s move to the Asia-Pacific marketing role will take her experience across markets and categories beyond India. Before joining Colgate-Palmolive India, she held senior leadership positions at Hindustan Unilever, including Executive Director for Home Care.

Her four-year India stint also included initiatives such as Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures and the Oral Health Movement, alongside efforts to strengthen oral-hygiene habits and broaden category penetration.

Taking over is Anandani, who brings 30 years of experience across sales, marketing, general management and senior leadership. He joins Colgate-Palmolive India from Kenvue, formerly Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, where he served as Managing Director for India and South Asia.

The appointment also represents something of a homecoming. Anandani previously spent 13 years with Colgate-Palmolive between 2005 and 2018, holding leadership roles across India, Indochina and the company’s corporate office before becoming Worldwide Director, Global Customer Development.

His experience in enterprise strategy, digital and e-commerce transformation and market expansion comes at a time when Colgate-Palmolive India is seeking to squeeze more growth from premium products and emerging commerce channels.

With Narasimhan taking the India growth playbook to the wider Asia-Pacific market and Anandani returning to a company he knows well, Colgate-Palmolive India is effectively changing hands while keeping its growth brush firmly loaded.