Shailesh Jejurikar to take over as P&G's first Indian CEO from January 1

Shailesh Jejurikar has been appointed by Procter & Gamble (P&G) as its president and chief executive officer, effective 1 January, becoming the first Indian in the consumer major’s history to lead the company.

He will succeed Jon Moeller, the current chief executive officer at the company.

Jejurikar is the current chief operating officer and has profit and loss responsibility for P&G’s Enterprise Markets—Latin America, India, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. He also leads information technology, global business services, sales, market operations, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution and new business for the company.

“Shailesh’s extensive P&G career has spanned multiple businesses—Health & Beauty Care, Home Care, Fabric Care and P&G Professional—in both developed and developing regions, including North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. With a passion for impacting the lives of people around the world, he is known for his ability to identify growth possibilities by meeting the needs of consumers in new, better, and more complete ways,” the company said in its release.

The release added that he has consistently delivered strong business results in every market and on every business, enabled through his experience of growing brands locally, regionally, globally and across industries.

Prior to becoming chief operating officer, Jejurikar was the chief executive officer of P&G’s largest business sector—Fabric and Home Care—which includes many of its brands such as Tide, Ariel, Downy, Gain, Febreze and Swiffer, and represents about one-third of total company sales and net earnings.

He joined P&G on 1 July 1989 in P&G India and has completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, the release added.