Harish Manwani


Harish Manwani was the global Chief operating officer of Unilever. He currently serves as the Senior Operating Partner at Blackstone and a director of Whirlpool, Qualcomm, Gilead Sciences and Tata Sons among others.

Early life

Manwani did his schooling at St. Xavier's School, Delhi, and was graduated from Mumbai University. He also obtained a Master's Degree in Management studies at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

Career

In 1976, Manwani joined Unilever in India. He became a member of the company board with responsibility for the Personal Products Division. He also held regional responsibility for Personal Products in Central Asia and the Middle East.
In 2000 he moved to Unilever headquarters in the UK as Senior Vice President of Global Hair Care and Oral Care and subsequently held several senior general management positions with P&L responsibilities including President of Home and Personal Care for Latin America, President and CEO of Unilever HPC North America, President Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. He was also made a non-executive chairman of Hindustan Unilever in 2005.
In 2011, he was appointed as the global COO for Unilever, with P&L responsibility for all the markets. He retired on 31 December 2014, after more than 38 years of service.
He is now Senior Operating Partner with Blackstone and serves on several international boards and is also Chairman of the Indian School of Business.

Awards

The Asia Business Leader of the Year in 2008 by CNBC Asia.

Personal life

Harish is married and has two daughters.
Harish was one of the hostages who were trapped in Taj Hotel, Mumbai during the terrorist attack in Mumbai.