Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL) has named Zaved Akhtar as its chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD).
The appointment of Zaved, who will also join the Unilever South Asia Leadership Team, will come into effect from July 1, the company said in a statement.
Zaved, who now serves as vice president of Digital Transformation & Growth in South Asia, will succeed Kedar Lele, who served as the CEO and MD of Unilever Bangladesh since January 2018 and subsequently became chairman in addition to managing director last year.
Kedar will join the Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) Management Committee as executive director, Customer Development. However, He will continue as the chairman of Unilever Bangladesh.
Zaved Akhtar, a career marketer, began his career with British American Tobacco and then joined Unilever as senior brand manager for its Oral Care business in 2000.
With more than two decades of professional experience across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia, the business leader has profound expertise in consumer centricity, design thinking and innovation management.
He graduated from Dhaka University's Institute of Business Administration.
In his current role as the vice president of Digital Transformation & Growth, Zaved set up the "Digital Council" for Hindustan Unilever and anchored the "Reimagine HUL" agenda, a widely recognized program across Unilever as a comprehensive end-to-end digital transformation program with impact.
Unilever South Asia President Sanjiv Mehta said: "I would like to thank Kedar for his outstanding leadership of the Bangladesh business and laud his efforts towards strengthening customer development execution, transforming the company's end-to-end supply chain, developing talent and improving diversity in UBL.
"I am delighted to welcome Zaved as the CEO and MD of Unilever Bangladesh, and to the South Asia Leadership Team. His contribution towards crafting Unilever's Five Fundamentals of Growth and driving the Reimagine HUL agenda in India has been tremendous. I am certain that he will lead the Bangladesh business to greater heights," he added.