Reckitt Benckiser CEO Steps Down; Replacement Search Begins
Reckitt Benckiser CEO Laxman Narasimhan will step down at the end of the month to pursue a new opportunity in the US.
(Bloomberg) -- Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Laxman Narasimhan will step down at the end of the month to pursue a new opportunity in the US.
The maker of Lysol disinfectant said Nicandro Durante, currently its senior independent director, is stepping into the role of CEO while the board considers a longer-term replacement.
Narasimhan has helped restructure the company since taking over in 2019, unwinding the missteps of his predecessor Rakesh Kapoor.
When he joined Reckitt, Narasimhan was an outsider who had previously worked at PepsiCo Inc. and McKinsey & Co. Reckitt at the time wanted fresh leadership after Kapoor’s tenure was marred by a cyberattack, production glitches, a failed product launch and sluggish performance of many of its core brands.
The digital-savvy CEO has since helped deliver an improved performance, taking strategic moves to sell parts of the portfolio, such as the company’s infant formula business in China.
In July the company raised its sales forecast as it weathered soaring inflation and benefited from an infant formula shortage in the US.
Durante was previously BAT’s chief executive officer. He is Brazilian and ran the tobacco company for nine years until 2019.
(Updates with additional information throughout)
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