MAM
Prabha Narasimhan takes over as managing director of Colgate-Palmolive India
Mumbai: After a stint of over two decades at Hindustan Unilever, Prabha Narasimhan has joined Colgate-Palmolive India as managing director. Previously, she served as an executive director at the FMCG major before moving on from the company earlier this year in May 2022. Narasimhan takes over the reins of the oral care major from Ram Raghavan, who has moved to a global role.
Narasimhan confirmed the development through a post on LinkedIn: “Everyone deserves a future they can smile about is the core philosophy of the Colgate brand. Today, as I start my new journey with Colgate, this definitely made me smile. Over the last three months, I have had the opportunity to travel across 6 different countries and 7 offices to meet and understand this business and its people, and it has been an amazing experience. I am now excited and eager to work with the Colgate Palmolive team in India on brands that I have grown up with and a business that is an absolute powerhouse,” she wrote.
“No post of starting would be complete however without a look back at my time with Unilever. I consider myself extremely privileged to have worked for over 2 decades in such a fabulous organisation and more importantly work with such amazing colleagues – many of whom are lifelong friends. I will continue to watch & cheer their progress. Thank you to everyone, far too many to name here, who have helped me get to this position and thanks in advance to my new Colgate colleagues who I am excited to get to know more,” she further added.
Narasimhan joined Hindustan Unilever as a regional marketing manager in 2006. She worked her way up to become the vice president of the personal care category in 2015, before going on to become the vice president of the skin care category. In 2020, she was promoted to the position of executive director.
In the past, she has also served a stint with the Aditya Birla Group as general manager – Strategy at Madura Garments.
MAM
WPP appoints Estée Lauder’s Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer
Former Estée Lauder executive to lead operations, technology and culture overhaul under WPP’s three-year growth plan
LONDON: WPP has appointed Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer in a newly created role tasked with delivering the group’s Elevate28 strategy.
Choueiri joins from The Estée Lauder Companies, where she led enterprise-wide strategic initiatives, including the “One ELC” operating model and major upgrades to enterprise marketing, data and analytics capabilities. She also led the redesign of enterprise technology teams and served on the company’s AI taskforce, driving AI strategy, adoption and value realisation across the business.
At WPP, she will be responsible for designing, implementing and embedding the operating model behind Elevate28, the company’s three-year growth plan unveiled in February 2026. She will lead efforts to improve innovation, efficiency and integration across WPP’s client offerings, with a focus on delivering agile, outcome-driven solutions and measurable growth.
Choueiri will oversee organisational transformation across the group, working closely with product and enterprise technology teams to deploy AI, data and technology to build new capabilities and improve operational performance. She will also work with the people function to embed cultural change, strengthen an agile performance mindset and support talent development across the organisation.
Before joining Estée Lauder, she held senior roles across consulting and digital agencies, including at Accenture, Masaï (a Bain & Company spin-off), and Kearney, with experience spanning strategy, data and digital marketing transformation.
Cindy Rose, chief executive officer of WPP, said Choueiri brings a strong track record of leading large-scale transformation across operations, technology and culture, adding that her appointment will help accelerate the group’s next phase of growth under Elevate28.
Choueiri said WPP’s strategy represents an ambitious opportunity to reshape how the company operates and delivers for clients, adding that she looks forward to building integrated solutions and fostering a culture of innovation and change.
She will be based in New York and will join WPP’s executive committee.
