MAM
Patanjali Dairies head Sunil Bansal succumbs to Covid
MUMBAI: Sunil Bansal, who headed the dairy business of Yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali brand, died of Covid-19, the company said on Monday, adding it had no “role in his allopathic treatment.” Bansal was vice president in the Dairy Division of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and died on 19 May. He was 57.
A specialist in dairy science, Bansal joined Patanjali’s dairy business in January 2018 when the company announced its plans to sell packaged cow milk and other milk-based products including curd, buttermilk and cheese.
“He died of Covid-19 on 19 May in Rajasthan Hospital, Jaipur where his wife is a very senior health official of Government of Rajasthan,” the Haridwar-based consumer packaged goods said in a statement, adding, “It’s very unfortunate to have lost a young energetic colleague who was taskmaster.”
His death comes at a time when Ramdev is courting controversy over his comments dissing allopathic medicines and Covid-19.
“Patanjali didn’t have any role in his allopathic treatment which was largely coordinated by his wife,” it said. “However we were concerned and used to ask for his well-being from his wife.”
On Sunday, Ramdev was forced to withdraw a statement made in a viral video clip in which he is heard saying that “lakhs have died from taking allopathic medicines for Covid-19.” He is also heard questioning some of the medicines being used to treat the disease.
The statement led to vociferous protests from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which demanded that the Health Ministry take strong action against the yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly misleading the public through his statements. Following this, union health minister Harsh Vardhan asked Ramdev to withdraw the statement which he said was “extremely unfortunate”.
Brands
Hardik Jhaveri named senior director marketing at Colgate-Palmolive Asean hub
Former Hill’s Pet Nutrition general manager returns to the company to steer marketing for South Asean from Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR:Â Hardik Jhaveri has been appointed senior director marketing for the South Asean hub at Colgate-Palmolive, marking a return to the consumer goods major after a three year stint with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will lead marketing strategy for the region.
Jhaveri joins the role after serving as general manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Taipei, where he led a cross functional team and oversaw the business with full profit and loss responsibility. The role placed him at the helm of operations in Taiwan, managing growth in what he described as a start-up style environment within a global multinational.
Before that, Jhaveri spent over a decade with Colgate-Palmolive across several marketing and innovation roles in Asia. As associate director innovation for Apac excluding China, based in Hong Kong, he led new product development and launches across multiple markets.
His portfolio ranged from developing specialised oral care products such as a diabetes focused toothpaste for the Indian market to launching premium oral care experiences under the Colgate Total brand in Australia. Alongside innovation, he also worked on launch planning, brand strategy and communications for the company’s oral care portfolio.
Earlier in his Colgate-Palmolive journey, Jhaveri held roles including marketing manager innovation, senior brand manager and brand manager. His work spanned urban and rural markets in Mumbai and customer development responsibilities in the Greater Kolkata Area.
Prior to his long association with Colgate-Palmolive, Jhaveri worked as brand officer home care at Unilever, where he helped drive marketing initiatives for the Rin detergent brand, including nationwide relaunch and on ground activation campaigns.
He began his career in advertising with Bates David Enterprise, working on brands such as IDBI Bank, The Leela Hotels and The Times of India.
Jhaveri holds a post graduate programme in management from the Indian School of Business and has also completed a level 4 diploma in wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Announcing the move, Jhaveri said he is excited to begin his new chapter at Colgate-Palmolive’s South Asean hub and thanked colleagues and mentors who supported his journey at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
