Vadilal appoints Himanshu Kanwar as first non-family CEO for their business in India

Himanshu Kanwar is a seasoned consumer business leader with over two decades of experience spanning FMCG giants and high-growth consumer startups. He combines classical brand-building expertise with new-age digital fluency, making him uniquely positioned to drive innovation, market transformation, and sustainable value creation.

At Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), he held multiple senior leadership roles across foods, beverages, personal care, and ice creams. As Business Head – Ice Creams, he steered the portfolio to robust growth through strategic acquisitions, disruptive innovations, and sustained margin expansion. Later, as Global Brand Director for HUL’s South Asia Haircare portfolio, he led brand strategy, innovation pipelines, and positioning refreshes for several iconic personal care brands, further strengthening HUL’s market leadership.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Kanwar managed some of India’s most trusted household names in detergents and beverages, while also gaining deep commercial acumen through frontline sales leadership roles.

Since 2022, he has been associated with a leading startup enabler, mentoring fast-scaling consumer businesses across beauty, food, fintech, and OTT. His work focuses on helping founders sharpen their growth strategies, expand digital channels, and build strong organizational capabilities.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, where he specialized in Marketing, and a Computer Engineering graduate from Delhi College of Engineering, Mr. Kanwar brings the rare blend of analytical rigour, brand expertise, and entrepreneurial mindset.

With his proven track record of building iconic brands and shaping new-age consumer ventures, Mr. Kanwar is widely recognized as a leader who can seamlessly bridge the worlds of established FMCG and emerging digital-first businesses.

“I feel extremely privileged to lead Vadilal through this phase of transition. and I am thankful to the Gandhi family and the Board for their confidence in me. Vadilal brand and the Gandhi family have been the pioneers in building love for ice creams in India and bringing joy to millions through their quality products. I feel extremely excited and honoured to take this legacy forward and build upon it for continued success of the business,” said Himanshu Kanwar.

“Himanshu is a great choice with deep experience in the category involving consumer understanding, Innovation, Go to Market. Himanshu will play a crucial bridge role in the move from a family run company to a professionally managed enterprise of the future,” shared  Shiv Shivakumar, chairman of board and team.

“The appointment of Mr. Himanshu Kanwar as CEO represents a significant step in Vadilal’s transformation into a professionally managed company and reinforces our commitment to building a world-class ice cream and food multinational.”