Saugata Gupta serves as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Marico Limited. He joined Marico in 2004 as the Head of Marketing and was elevated to CEO of India Business in 2007 and in 2014 he took over as Managing Director of the company.

A dynamic leader, he is responsible for driving the company’s growth and strengthening its presence both nationally and internationally. He has helped transform Marico into a high performing business with a commitment to sustainable development and best in class governance.

Known for his performance-oriented approach, Saugata drives Marico to be a future-ready organization committed to consistent profitable and sustainable growth combined with societal value creation. Under his guidance, Marico today has expanded its presence across 25 countries spread across emerging markets of Asia and Africa. During his tenure, Marico’s market capitalisation crossed over USD 8 billion in 2021 and it recorded a turnover of over USD 1 billion in FY20-21.

During this period, Marico has been recognised across various forums for its commitment to sustainability and accountability in business operations. Marico ranked highest amongst FMCG companies in the Crisil ESG performance score - ESGuage 2021 and has been ranked amongst the Top 10 in corporate governance among all constituent companies of the S&P BSE 100 Index. Marico has also been featured in the ‘LEADERSHIP’ category on the IFC-BSE-IiAS Indian Corporate Governance Scorecard as assessed by IiAS in December 2020. Marico ranked 6th among India's most sustainable companies with an A+ rating by SUSTAIN LABS PARIS in association with BW Businessworld and was awarded the Best CSR Practices award at Responsible Business Awards 2021. Marico is amongst India’s 5 Best Workplaces in FMCG as per Great Place to Work® Institute (India) and one of the 25 Most Desirable Companies To Work for across sectors, as per the Dare2Compete.

Saugata was ranked #4 and #47 in the FMCG sector and Pan-India respectively in the Business Today-PWC list of India’s Top 100 CEOs in 2017 and was ranked as ‘India’s Most Valuable CEOs’ by Businessworld in 2016 and 2018. He has been recognised as the Best CEO - Private Sector at Forbes India Leadership Awards 2019. He was also featured in the top 100 Business Leaders List 2020 by Impact Digital Power 100 and in 2021. He was recognized as one of India’s best leaders in the times of crisis 2021 by Great Places to Work. Recently, Saugata Gupta has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award 2022 by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

Outside Marico, Saugata is on the board of Ashok Leyland as Independent Director and is a member of Audit Committee, Nomination and Remuneration Committee and ESG Committee. He is also associated with Delhivery as an Independent Director.

Saugata is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and holds a chemical engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur.

Pawan Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer, will take on the additional responsibility of leading the business of Marico Southeast Asia and Marico Bangladesh from April 1, 2025 and will be designated as Group CFO and CEO International Business: Rest of South Asia and SE Asia.

In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Pawan has been entrusted with the organization’s financial well-being. He has played a key role in driving business growth, enhancing operational performance and supporting the development of long-term financial strategies. With more than 2 decades of experience, Pawan has worked across various finance verticals, including Financial Planning & Analysis, Corporate Finance, Treasury, Investor Relations, Taxation, Commercial and Corporate Governance functions.   

Pawan joined Marico in 2004 as the Regional Operations Manager for the South Sales Division in Hyderabad. Over the past 20 years, Pawan has contributed extensively to several key areas in Finance and Business while handling scale & complexity. He has been instrumental in executing Marico's diversification strategy, notably facilitating the acquisitions of digital first brands such as Beardo, Just Herbs, True Elements and Plix.

Pawan was awarded CFO of the Year in the Consumer Sector category at the 3rd Edition of the CII CFO Excellence Awards 2023‐24. Pawan was also felicitated with The Financial Express CFO of the year Award 2020, under the Large Enterprises Category in Manufacturing Sector. Under his leadership, Marico has been ranked in the ‘LEADERSHIP’ category on the IiAS Indian Corporate Governance Scorecard for four consecutive years and was awarded ‘Best Governed Company in Listed Segment: Medium Category’ at the 23rd ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance 2023.

Before joining Marico, Pawan worked with Eveready Industries (I) Limited for four years, focusing on Internal Audit and Sales Commercial functions. Pawan is a Chartered Accountant and holds a B.Com (Hons) degree from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta.

Somasree Bose Awasthi is currently the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Marico Limited where she is responsible for leading the brand marketing initiatives, including core brands like Saffola Edible Oils and the iconic Parachute Coconut Oil.

A veteran in the industry, Somasree has over 19 years of marketing experience across categories such as personal care, home care, and air care brands. She started her professional career with Godrej as a Management Trainee as a part of their Godrej Sara Lee business and then continued with Godrej Consumer Product post the merger. Early in her career, she worked as Areas Sales Manager for West Bengal in GCPL upcountry and was the first Female ASM in Eastern Region for the company. Thereafter, she continued her journey with Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), having been the Chief Marketing Officer recently.

During her tenure at GCPL, she has gained significant experience in business turnaround for soaps category, successfully scaling up innovation and has led new product launches in the health and wellness space. She also, notably, started the Direct-to-Consumer channel for GCPL for the first time with Godrej Aer.

She has been featured among the Top 26 in The Economic Times Women Ahead 2017 list and has been included in Impact’s Top 50 most influential women in marketing and media three years in a row.

Somasree holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from RCOEM, Nagpur, and completed her MBA from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar.

Financial Leadership

Shafiq Musharrof oversees the financial strategy of Marico Bangladesh Limited, ensuring efficient financial strategy, cost efficiencies, financial health, Internal control & Governance. Shafiq has joined Marico Bangladesh Limited in June 2023. Under the leadership of Shafiq, the finance team of Marico Bangladesh Limited has been demonstrating strong business partnering with financial prudence and strategic focus with full empowerment. He also drives strategic business planning, financial analysis and ensures Marico’s financial stability. Shafiq has also focused on team development with highest focus on learning and development.

Professional & Educational Background

Shafiq Musharrof has 17 years of experience in Finance, Supply Chain, Internal Control and Governance. Before Joining Marico, Shafiq was at Novo Nordisk as Finance and Operations Director for more than 5 Years where he successfully led Finance, Supply chain, IT and Administration. Before Novo Nordisk Pharma, Shafiq worked with Nestlé in different responsibilities like Internal Audit, Accounting Operations, Financial Accounting & Reporting and Internal Control. Shafiq has also experience in developing internal control system at Siemens for a year. Shafiq was Executive Committee member of Nordic Chamber of Commerce and Industries (NCCI) in Bangladesh for 2021-2023.

Shafiq is a fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh. He did his articleship from KPMG( Rahman Rahman Huq). His academic credentials include an MBA and BBA from the University of Dhaka. Shafiq's extensive experience in finance equips him with the skills to lead and innovate in financial management.

Personal Interests

Shafiq values continuous learning and staying updated on financial innovations. He enjoys spending quality time with his family, maintaining a balanced and fulfilling life. These personal interests provide him with a well-rounded perspective that enhances his ability to lead and innovate in the field of finance.

Dr Shilpa Vora is the Chief R&D Officer and is a part of the executive committee at Marico Limited. She joined Marico in 2022 and brings with her over 24 years of professional experience in R&D across categories such as Personal Care, Beverages and Home Care.

Dr Shilpa has spent a significant part of her career with Unilever, where she started as a Research Scientist. She then became the director of Biosciences in 2009. Rising through the corporate ladder, she become the Global R&D Director for Hygiene and later, the Global R&D for Tea further leading the R&D function of Global Lifebuoy and Skin Cleansing South Asia.

While at Unilever, Dr Shilpa has worked closely with Global and Regional R&D, Regulatory, Packaging, Supply Chain and Procurement teams to rapidly scale up and launch COVID relevant products and claims under immense time and raw material pressure. During her tenure, Lifebuoy grew to $1 billion in 2020.

Dr Shilpa completed her PhD in Immunology from University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA in 1994, and is Post-Doctoral Fellow from Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati (1995-1997).

Director – Marketing
Business Experience

Allen joined Marico Bangladesh in October 2019 and is responsible for driving a successful Marketing function. A passionate marketer, his experience spans over 19 years in Brand Management and Sales, across two FMCG organizations – Marico and Emami. He started his career as a Management Trainee in Marico in 2005, and held different Sales and Marketing roles in India over 9 years, post which, he was with Emami Limited for 5 years; he led the Fair and Handsome and Pain Management Portfolios (including the iconic Zandu Balm, Mentho Plus Balm, Fast Relief) for India.

Marketing in Action

His well-rounded marketing experience spans extensive work on heritage Brands, successful new Brand launches, stabilization, scale-up and growth in Organization eco-systems; and NPDs, operating across blue-ocean, penetration categories to complex, competitive categories among both urban and rural consumer demographics. His systematic experience on development of sound, long-term brand strategies has led to building effective, consistent, strong brands; and excellence in execution has led to sustainable, profitable growth of brands over the years.

Building Teams, Building People

He believes in a simple, process-driven approach to brand building. A collaborative leader, he has structured, built and nurtured large teams with a blend of experience and fresh talent; he enjoys mentoring and enabling them for early responsibilities, larger roles and consistent outcomes over time. His mentoring has created a large set of successful marketing leaders in the country, over the last four and a half years.

Recognition

He has led differentiated work that have received prestigious international recognition, including two Recommended Cases and two Editor's Choice Best Practice papers at WARC, a WARC Asia Strategy Prize, a hat-trick at the Appies Asia Pacific Marketing Congress, Singapore and six Effies.

Academic & Personal Passion

He did his post-graduation in Business Management from XLRI Jamshedpur, and Mechanical Engineering from Tamil Nadu College of Engineering, Coimbatore. A driving enthusiast and violinist, he enjoys reading and writing.

Amit Bhasin is Chief Legal Officer and Group General Counsel for Marico Limited. He is part of the Executive Committee of Marico Limited and is responsible for Legal and Corporate Affairs Function for Marico Group both in India and International markets. Amit Bhasin is member of Governance Committee of Marico and also anchors Corporate Social Responsibility function of Marico.

Amit has over 19 years of experience in Corporate Legal, Legal Business Partnering, Corporate Compliances and Governance. He has worked across organizations in consumer sector. Prior to joining Marico, Amit Bhasin was associated with Hindustan Unilever Limited as General Manager – Legal and Corporate Secretarial for over 13 years. He has handled multiple roles and worked on several M&A transactions and corporate actions for Unilever including the acquisition of GSK business. He was part of several global working networks for Unilever in the areas of Competition Law, Governance and Compliance.

Amit plays an active role in the advocacy efforts for FMCG industry and is part of several industry bodies. He is member of FICCI FMCG Committee and Chair for FICCI FMCG Committee for Legal Metrology and CCPA. He is part of Legal Committee of Indian Beauty & Hygiene Association (IBHA), Executive Committee Member of MCIA FMCG User Council.

Amit is a Law Graduate and a certified Chartered Secretary from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) . He has also earned a post-graduation certification in Sustainable Business from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in 2011.

Amit Prakash is currently the CHRO at Marico, responsible for the overall organizational development through people management practices, culture-building initiatives, developing and strengthening functional leadership capabilities.

He joined Marico in 2015 as the Head of Human Resources - India Business.

With 20 years of work experience, Amit has been responsible for setting up the Corporate HR function at Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages where he also led business transformation with specific focus on people productivity & process efficiency.

He has also worked with Delphi, ITC and LG in varied roles. Over the years, his experience includes, performance management and improvement, talent management and planning to career and succession development as well as organizational development.

Amit holds a Bachelors’ degree in Science from Hansraj College and has done MPM (HR) from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management.

Ashish Goupal currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer for International Business at Marico Limited, will transition into a new role as CEO – India Core Business, effective April 01, 2025. He will focus on the integrated business structure in India.

Ashish has led the company’s international operations across multiple geographies, including Bangladesh, South-East Asia, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), South Africa and Exports Markets. Within the Marico Group, he plays a pivotal role as a member of the Executive Committee and serves on the Board of Marico Bangladesh (MBL).

His journey with Marico began in 2006 when he joined Marico India as Area Sales Manager. Over the years, Ashish consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership and was subsequently appointed as the Managing Director of Marico Bangladesh Limited (MBL) in July 2018. Under his leadership MBL with listings on the Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges since 2009. has rapidly emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-growing FMCG companies in Bangladesh. In February 2022, Ashish assumed the role of COO for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) business, as well as New Country Development (NCD) business, in addition to his responsibilities in Bangladesh. In October 2023, Ashish assumed role of CEO International Business and will be responsible for driving Marico’s business and people growth journey in international markets.

Throughout his impressive 18+ years at Marico, Ashish excelled and delivered remarkable results in various domains, including Revenue Management, Brand Management, New Product Development, Trade Marketing, Shopper Marketing, and Demand Planning. He has successfully introduced new brands and spearheaded transformative initiatives in areas such as Business Transformation, Talent value proposition, Governance & Sustainability, and Cost Management.

Under Ashish's leadership, Marico Bangladesh achieved the significant milestone of crossing the 1000 Crores business mark. The company also earned numerous industry accolades for its outstanding brands, exemplary corporate governance, and contributions to corporate social responsibility in Bangladesh.

He holds a degree from the Jamanalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and started his career as a management trainee with the global consumer durable leader, Samsung, in 2004.

Beyond his commitments at Marico, Ashish has held positions on the boards of prominent organizations, including the American School of Dhaka, FICCI Bangladesh, and the Indo-Bangla Chamber of Commerce, further exemplifying his dedication to community and industry involvement.

Vrijesh Nagathan joined Marico Limited in 2022 as the Chief Information & Digital Technology Officer. He is a seasoned technology leader with extensive experience of over 20 years in IT Leadership and Business Transformation, Project Management, Shared Services, Business Planning, Supply Chain & Manufacturing, across the FMCG, IT consulting, Automobile and Engineering industries.

Having joined Unilever in 2007 as a Senior Systems Manager, Vrijesh ascended through the ranks to become the Head IT of B2B Commerce Platforms. He led the B2B commerce IT initiatives across Unilever globally, managing IT / technology for areas across Supply Chain & Procurement, Commercial, B2B-commerce, Customer self-service Apps and POS solutions among others. He was associated with them for around 11 years on several assignments across India, Europe, UK, Africa & ASEAN.

He moved on to join Coca Cola in 2018, where he served as the Chief Information Officer, India & Southwest Asia, for three years with additional responsibility, as the Shared Services Lead. During his tenure, he led the IT Strategy and Execution for the overall Coca-Cola ecosystem across the India & Southwest Asia Business Unit. He was also responsible for the IT Roadmap, Deployment & Governance across 18 different franchise bottlers. In his role, he was responsible for transforming the way business is run and moving the needle on key technology adoption.

He began his career as an engineer with Kirloskar Electric Company and Widia (I) Limited and has also been associated with Ashok Leyland as Assistant Manager in 2003 and Bristlecone as Senior Consultant in 2004.

Vrijesh did his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering in 1998 from National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal and has completed his MBA in Operations Management from Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune. His interests include following the Battery technology, Green Energy, Sustainability & World-without-waste initiatives.