Former P&G Executive Manoj Kumar may succeed GSK Consumer MD Ahmed

NEW DELHI: GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is expected to name former Procter & Gamble executive Manoj Kumar on Friday to succeed Managing Director Zubair Ahmed, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Ahmed has been elevated as head of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa for a proposed joint venture between GSK Consumer and the over-the-counter division of pharmaceutical firm Novartis.

Under the new structure, Ahmed will be overseeing operations in more than 100 countries. It could not be confirmed if Ahmed would continue to operate out of GSK Consumer’s Gurgaon headquarters.

“The company is not in a position to confirm anything,” a GSK Consumer spokesperson said. “No decision has been approved by the board yet.”

Kumar, whose last assignment was with P&G in Nigeria, has also worked with Gillette before its acquisition by P&G in 2005. He has worked across multiple marketing and management functions. He is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and the University of Chicago School of Business.

In last October, GSK had said Ahmed’s elevation was part of an integration planning process for GSK Consumer’s JV with Novartis.

In the new capacity, Ahmed’s responsibility, in addition to the Indian sub-continent business, includes Asia Pacific (including China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) and the Middle East (including Turkey, Iran and Pakistan) and Africa.

GSK and Novartis had announced the formation of the JV in the consumer healthcare space in April last year, with GSK holding the majority 63.5% stake and Novartis the rest.

Examples of Indian executives being elevated to top global roles include Coca-Cola Asia group president Atul Singh, McCann Worldgroup Asia-Pacific chairman Prasoon Joshi and Chander M Sethi, senior vice-president for Southeast Asia at Reckitt Benckiser.