Colgate-Palmolive appoints Manish Anandani as MD & CEO for India

Colgate-Palmolive India Limited today announced a key leadership transition. Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, has been elevated to the role of Executive Vice President – Marketing, Asia-Pacific Division, Colgate-Palmolive, effective close of business hours on 27 September, 2026.

To lead the company into its next growth phase, the Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Manish Anandani as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective 28 September 2026.

During Prabha Narasimhan’s four-year tenure at the helm of Colgate-Palmolive India, she steered the company through a transformative growth journey, reinforcing its position as the market leader in oral care. Under her leadership, the company doubled down on strategic premiumisation, accelerating premium portfolio growth to five times the pace of the broader market, while delivering volume-led growth, industry-leading profitability, and consistent top-line momentum.

Her tenure was marked by a sharp pivot toward digital transformation, quick-commerce expansion, and consumer-centric innovation, alongside a renewed push for category expansion by driving oral hygiene habits across urban and rural India. She also strengthened the brand’s purpose-driven impact through flagship initiatives like Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures and the Oral Health Movement.

Prabha brings extensive experience across markets, categories and geographies, with a proven track record of building brands and driving category growth. Before joining Colgate-Palmolive India, she held senior leadership roles at Hindustan Unilever, including as Executive Director for Home Care, where she led businesses across diverse consumer categories. Her experience spanning India and international markets, combined with her expertise in brand building and category development, positions her strongly for her new Asia-Pacific mandate.

Colgate-Palmolive India is stepping up its premiumisation strategy as it looks to build on strong business momentum and create higher-value growth in the country’s oral care market. The company’s focus on premium products, category development and operational efficiencies comes as it marks 90 years of operations in India and seeks to strengthen its growth trajectory in the market.

The company is also stepping up investments behind its brands and growth opportunities. Winning on the digital screen has been a central engine in the recent past for Colgate-Palmolive's growth. Driven by good execution and performance across e-commerce and quick commerce, these channels have served as major growth catalysts, being growth, margin, premiumisation, and share accretive. The e-Commerce channel has been delivering high double-digit topline expansion with more than 50% of sales coming from premium products and gross margins at an impressive 400 basis points higher than overall company averages. As Indian consumers increasingly embrace rapid delivery, our strong execution ensures we are uniquely positioned to capture value across these evolving platforms.

Manish Anandani brings 30 years of rich and varied experience across sales, marketing, general management and senior leadership roles. He joins Colgate-Palmolive India from Kenvue (erstwhile Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health) where he was the Managing Director for India and South Asia. An expert in enterprise strategy, digital and eCommerce transformation, and market expansion, his appointment marks a homecoming to Colgate-Palmolive. He previously spent 13 years with the company (2005–2018), rising through critical leadership roles across India, Indochina, and the Corporate office, culminating as Worldwide Director in Global Customer Development.