Sanjiv Mehta Success Story - The CA Who Turned a Businessman

Sajiv Mehta is an Indian-born businessman and a Chartered Accountant by profession. He has been the MD & Chairman of Hindustan Unilever Ltd., India's FMCG Company (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), since 2018. Mehta also heads their businesses in South Asia as cluster president encompassing business in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Mehta is also a member of the company's Leadership Executive (its global executive board). Let's delve into this article to read the life journey and success story of this brilliant businessman.

Sanjiv Mehta – Key Highlights

• Full Name – Sanjiv Mehta
• Year of Birth – 1959 (62 years)
• Place of Birth – Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
• Education – Chartered Accountant
• Alma Mater - Chartered Accountancy of India
• Designation – President, Unilever South Asia
• Marital Status – Married
• Spouse – Mona Mehta (m. 1993)
• Children – 2 daughters

Sanjiv Mehta – Early Life and Education

Sanjiv was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in 1959 to Anita Mehta and SP Mehta. His father was a retired senior executive with RBI (Reserve Bank of India), and his mother was a housewife.

Mehta spent his growing years in Mumbai and Nagpur and completed Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He also studied Advanced Management Programme from the Harvard Business School ad got conferred the honorary degree in Business Management by Xavier University, Bhubaneshwar.

Sanjiv Mehta – Career Timeline

• Union Carbide – Mehta began his career with Union Carbide in 1983. In his early career, he was a part of the crisis management team that worked on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. This job helped him in starting most of his meetings by reviewing the safety plan of the company. Mehta is known for his expertise in this segment.
• Unilever Bangladesh – Sanjiv joined Unilever Bangladesh's board in 1998 as its commercial director. He later got appointed as the MD & Chairman of Unilever Bangladesh in 2002 and chairman of Unilever Philippines in 2007. Mehta became the chairman of Unilever Middle East and North Africa in 2008.
• Hindustan Unilever – Mehta became the MD & CEO of Hindustan Unilever Ltd. in 2013 and later got appointed as its MD & Chairman in 2018. He has taken some crucial decisions during his tenure that helped the company to grow.

Sanjiv Mehta Biography – Other Designations

Some of the other posts of Sajiv Mehta are as follows:

• Senior Vice President – By FICCI
• 'Vikaasa' chairman – A coalition of top Indian and MNC companies
• Member of South Asia Advisory Board – By Harvard Business School
• Member – Breach Candy Hospital Trust
• Director – Board of Indian School of Business
• Co-chairman of the Advisory Network to the High-Level Panel – By Sustainable Ocean Economy

Sanjiv Mehta – Awards and Recognitions

Some of the awards won by Sanjiv are as follows:

• Businessman Executive of the Year – By American Chamber of Commerce, Dhaka, 2004
• Economic Times Award for Corporate Citizen – By Economic Times, 2018
• The Outstanding CEO of the Year – By CEO India Magazine, At the 3rd edition of the CEO Awards, 2016
• Industry Role Model – Lokmat's Most Stylish Awards – By Lokmat, 2019
• Best CEO Multinational – By Forbes India, 2018
• Best Transformational Leader – By Asian Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability, 2019
• Management Man of the Year – By Bombay Management Association, 2017
• Prahlad P. Chhabria Memorial Global Award – By Priyadarshni Academy, 2020
• Honorary Degree, Doctor o Philosophy in Business Management – By Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar, 2019
• Business Leader Award – By Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, 2018
• Best CEO Medium Company Category – By Business Today, 2021
• Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial and Social Peace – By Xavier Institute of Management, 2021
• Business Leader of the Year – By All India Management Association, 2019
• JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award – By All India Management Association, 2021

Sanjiv Mehta – The Brilliant Mind

Sanjiv Mehta is one of those few businessmen who are Chartered Accountants by profession. He belongs to a well-educated family where they knew the importance of having a proper background with every student. Mehta spent most of his career working for Unilever, and under his leadership, the company saw some extraordinary heights. This man is a moral ideal and inspiration for all of us.