Levers of change

The new HUL boss should tread cautiously on Unilever's strategy to lower focus on local and regional brands

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The swift leadership change at Hindustan Unilever (HUL), announced on Thursday, came as a surprise to many, which is understandable as Rohit Jawa is only the second CEO in HUL's long history to have got just a two-year stint at the helm. But if you dig a little deeper, the change was expected for at least two reasons. First, the average CEO tenure in companies around the globe is anyway becoming shorter, courtesy the mindboggling changes and uncertainties in the external environment. Second, Unilever itself saw the abrupt exit of Hein Schumacher as the global CEO just 20 months into his tenure in February. He was replaced by Fernando Fernandez, who the board thought has the ability to capitalize on the company's growth plan "with urgency." It all came down to that one word, much beloved by Wall Street: urgency.