Abhishek was appointed as Country GM for pladis Nigeria effective from May 2023.
Abhishek is a growth-oriented leader in FMCG with 30+ years’ experience in leading multinational organisations such as Unilever, Joyco/Wrigleys, Mother Diary and United Biscuits. His experience spans from leading start-ups to scale in challenging contexts, turning around businesses and breakthrough innovations. These businesses have reached significant and profitable scale in Emerging Markets. Deep experience in the Indian subcontinent and Emerging Markets makes him adept and comfortable in navigating uncertainty and volatility. Abhishek has a real passion for building Winning Teams.
Abhishek commenced his career in 1995 and has held several roles in sales and management across multinational companies such as Unilever, Joyco/Wrigleys and United Biscuits over the years. He joined United Biscuits (now pladis) India in 2009 as Sales Director and held this role until he moved to the Commercial Director role in 2013. In 2015 Abhishek took up a project leadership role in East Africa Reporting to the Africa MD and Project Steering group for business acquisition. In this role, he managed a project team of cross functional experts to arrive at the business plan for Kenya and East Africa. He also managed the initiative of business acquisition in Sri Lanka with the Cargill Ceylon group.
In 2016 Abhishek was appointed as the President (India) for pladis India where he turned around the business in less than two years from -17%(negative) EBITDA to break even business and subsequently increase the profitability. In 2020 his role was expanded as Regional GM for South Asia where he oversaw operations for India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in the region. Abhishek subsequently held the role of Global Projects Director for pladis from 2022 to 2023 where he oversaw various global projects which included business turnaround and new market entry strategies. He was appointed as Country GM for pladis Nigeria effective from May 2023.
