United Spirits, the India-based distiller that is majority owned by Diageo, has appointed former PepsiCo executive Praveen Someshwar as its new CEO.
Someshwar, who worked for PepsiCo for more than two decades, will join United Spirits from media group HT Media as CEO-designate in March.
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Hina Nagarajan, the current CEO of United Spirits, will move to “another position on Diageo’s global executive committee”, Diageo said in a statement.
The Johnnie Walker brand owner said Someshwar should take up the role of United Spirits CEO on 1 April.
“Under Hina’s leadership, Diageo India has combined strong top-line growth and margin expansion with impactful strategic initiatives, reshaping and premiumising our portfolio and positioning Diageo India as an innovative leader in the alco-bev industry,” Diageo CEO Debra Crew said.
“Praveen joins us with an outstanding track record of leading consumer businesses, with a passion for both strategy and execution excellence that will serve us well as we plan for the next phase of Diageo India’s exciting growth story.“
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By GlobalDataFor the last five years, Someshwar has been managing director and CEO of HT Media, which owns titles including The Hindustan Times.
He joined HT Media in 2018 after more than four years as general manager of PepsiCo’s business in north Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Someshwar started at PepsiCo in 1994 as a finance manager. His time at the Lay’s snacks maker included two years as CEO of the group’s food business in India.
He said: “I am delighted to be joining Diageo – a business with world-leading brands, talented colleagues, and a long-term commitment to developing its business sustainably in India. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to build on their great work.”
Nagarajan joined Diageo in 2018 as MD of emerging markets in Africa. She was named United Spirits CEO in 2021.
In a statement, she said: “It has been a true privilege to lead Diageo India during a period of strong strategic progress and sustained, profitable double-digit growth for the business, with our market capitalisation growing to more than Rs1 trillion ($12.5bn).”
