Rejin Surendran joins Britannia Industries as Chief Digital and IT Officer

MUMBAI: Britannia is getting a fresh digital recipe, with Rejin Surendran joining the company’s leadership team as its new Chief Digital and Information Officer. The appointment brings more than two decades of technology and transformation experience to the biscuit and FMCG major as it looks to deepen the role of digital across its business.

Surendran announced the move on LinkedIn, saying he was looking forward to working with Britannia’s team to accelerate its digital journey and support the next phase of growth.

Britannia had announced Surendran’s appointment as CDIO-designate effective September 1. He will formally take charge on October 1, 2026, following the retirement of current CIO Susheel Navanale on September 30.

Surendran joins Britannia after more than four years as Global CIO of Wipro Enterprises, where he led a global technology organisation spanning 25 countries. His remit covered digital transformation across businesses including consumer care, home care, industrial automation and aerospace.

During his stint, he worked across SAP S/4HANA migration, cloud transformation, data and analytics, cybersecurity, industrial IoT and automation. His experience also includes Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure strategies, as well as the use of GenAI in analytics.

Before Wipro Enterprises, Surendran was with Coca-Cola as Head of Digital and ERP CoE for the Bottling Investments Group. There, he led transformation programmes covering sales automation, B2B commerce, data analytics, connected factories and ERP, including the migration of SAP systems to Microsoft Azure.

His longest corporate chapter was at Unilever, where he spent more than 13 years in technology and digital roles. His work included developing digital supply-chain capabilities, factory and logistics digitisation, IoT and predictive maintenance, as well as technology initiatives spanning supply-chain planning, procurement and transportation management.

That career gives Surendran experience across some of the world’s biggest FMCG and technology businesses, followed by a global CIO role at Wipro Enterprises.

According to Britannia’s regulatory disclosure, Surendran brings more than 24 years of experience in technology and digital transformation. He holds a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NIT Warangal and a Master of Management from IIT Bombay.

His appointment comes as FMCG companies increasingly weave technology into manufacturing, supply chains, distribution, consumer data and business decision-making. At Britannia, the CDIO role brings the digital and information-technology agenda under a single leadership position.

The change also marks a transition from Britannia’s existing CIO structure. Navanale will retire on September 30, with Surendran formally taking over the newly positioned CDIO role from October 1.

For Britannia, the leadership change puts digital transformation firmly on the top table and brings in a technology veteran whose career has already crossed factories, cloud platforms, supply chains and consumer businesses.