Colgate Palmolive India appoints Manish ‌Anandani as MD and CEO.MUMBAI: In a major leadership reshuffling, Colgate-Palmolive has appointed Manish Anandani as its new India MD & CEO effective Sept 28, replacing incumbent Prabha Narasimhan, the company said in an exchange filing on Friday. Narasimhan is moving to the role of executive vice-president, marketing, Asia-Pacific division. The share price of Colgate-Palmolive India fell over 2% following the sudden announcement.The move is the latest among a series of C-suite churn in the consumer goods space over the past year amid intensifying competition from new-age brands and shifting consumption patterns. Besides, the West Asia war has stoked inflation and triggered price hikes, posing fresh headwinds for the sector which was hoping for long-term consumption boost following GST cuts. A deficient monsoon this year has also cast a shadow over rural growth. Earlier this month, Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) abruptly elevated insider Aasif Malbari to the position of CEO, replacing Sudhir Sitapati who was earlier even handed a fresh-five year term.Anandani who has previously worked with Colgate-Palmolive for more than a decade through 2005-2018 in various leadership roles across India, Indochina and US headquarters last held the position of India and South Asia MD at Kenvue (formerly Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health). Under Narasimhan, Colgate-Palmolive India had put in place an aggressive premiumisation strategy.“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,” the company said in a statement.During Narasimhan’s tenure, Colgate has seen a strong improvement in topline from the period before her tenure & strong EBITDA margins of over 30% driving industry leading Returns on Equity. However, the flat YoY topline in FY26 seems to be prompting the change of leadership in Colgate India.This is to avoid category stagnation and to guard their over 50% market share in their core categories, said independent consumer consultant Akshay D’Souza.In Q2 earnings last year, Colgate-Palmolive’s global CEO Noel Wallace had said that the company was not “pleased” with its performance in India but was hopeful that growth will get a boost going ahead.