Challenges are not new to Srinivas Phatak, Unilever’s new chief financial officer (CFO), who was elevated this week to a position that many see as a well deserved promotion.
Phatak will be the second Indian after Hindustan Unilever (HUL) CEO & MD Priya Nair to be a part of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE). Coming within two months of each other – Nair was appointed HUL’s CEO in August, but has been ULE member since 2023 – it points to the ‘disproportionate’ importance that Unilever is giving to India. India contributed over 12% of Unilever’s global revenue. Almost nine in 10 Indians use one or more HUL products and the company remains an FMCG bellwether in the country, something members of the ULE, which comprises Unilever’s top leadership team that drives company strategy across markets, are aware of. Phatak also joins the Unilever board with immediate effect.
Quiet performer for a company in transition
A quiet performer and company veteran, Phatak, 53, helped stabilise Unilever through a difficult transition period over the last six months, when the firm saw a top-deck reshuffle in February, and he became the acting CFO. He was deputy CFO and group controller at Unilever at that time, while his predecessor Fernando Fernandez (then CFO) was elevated as CEO of the company after the surprise exit of Hein Schumacher.
Phatak’s elevation comes also at a time when Unilever prepares to hive off its ice cream business later this year, something analysts are tracking closely as the London-headquartered company, looks to get leaner, focusing on core areas of operations including food and beverages, home and personal care, and beauty and wellbeing.
Navigating future challenges and growth
Phatak will be expected to partner CEO Fernando Fernandez as he looks to transform the company quickly, amid growing competition from new-age entrants and digital startups. Fernandez and Phatak enjoy a great working relationship, industry insiders say, which the former has acknowledged in a statement this week. He said Phatak was a “great partner”, bringing financial rigour, strategic clarity, and a sharp eye for value creation.
Phatak’s financial skills will be put to the test as investors expect quick results to Fernandez’s strategy of investing ‘disproportionately’ in the US and India, its two largest markets; deliver above-average volume growth and focus on power brands and categories that can aid premiumisation, such as beauty and wellness. Investors will also be watching how the Fernandez-Phatak duo navigate the trade and tariff barriers as well as geo-political issues. Unilever’s market capitalisation, for instance, has dropped more than 6% in a year to $152.4 billion, sector experts said, amid wider uncertainties and business challenges.
A chartered and cost accountant, Phatak, who is married and lives in London, started out at ITC as an assistant manager, audit in 1996. In 1999, he joined HUL as a finance manager, walking into the Mumbai office on September 15 that year, he said in a LinkedIn post, this week.
“My journey with brands, consumers and value chains began just two days after I joined,” said Phatak, who was born in Hyderabad to parents who worked at Syndicate Bank (now Canara Bank). His fluency with numbers came clearly from home, and Phatak was candid enough to admit in his LinkedIn post that his tryst with brand-building came at organisations such as HUL and parent Unilever.
“15th September 2026 – 26 years to the date, I’ve been entrusted by the Board of Unilever with the privilege of becoming Chief Financial Officer of this great company,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Industry executives describe Phatak as a ‘team player’, capable of navigating complex situations, always keeping a smile on his face. In 2020, for instance, Phatak helped steer HUL along with then CEO & MD Sanjiv Mehta through a difficult Covid-19 period, when operations came to a halt owing to shutdowns announced by the government.
At HUL, where Phatak was CFO from 2017 to mid-2021, he oversaw growth acceleration, market share gains, more than 300 basis points of margin expansion and a doubling of the company’s market capitalisation, sector experts said.
CEO Fernandez has been generous with his praise for Phatak: “His leadership and constructive challenge will be very valuable in driving consistent volume growth, margin expansion, and advancing our growth story,” he said.