United Spirits CEO Hina Nagarajan to be replaced by HT Media boss (updated)

United Spirits

13/01/2025 14:55

(Adds details of Nagarajan's new position in paragraph 3)
       Jan 13 (Reuters) - United Spirits  UNSP.NS , the Indian
arm of liquor company Diageo  DGE.L , said on Monday that CEO
Hina Nagarajan would step down from the top job after four years
in the role and be replaced by HT Media chief Praveen Someshwar.
        The leadership change comes after India's Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) alleged last week that Diageo, which owns
about 56% of United Spirits, made a suspicious payment to an
Indian lawmaker to get favourable decisions. 
    Nagarajan will move to a role on Diageo's global executive
committee as part of the transition, the company said. Incoming
CEO Someshwar will also be a part of the committee.
        Someshwar has been CEO of HT Media  HTML.NS , the owner
of the Hindustan Times national daily, for five years. Prior to
that, he worked with PepsiCo  PEP.O  for 24 years, where he held
a number of roles in various divisions ranging from finance to
management.
        Someshwar will serve as CEO designate a month before his
official appointment on April 1, United Spirits said.
  
        UK-based Diageo has been the subject of investigation by
Indian authorities, following a 2018 probe into investment
approvals.
  
        Separately, Nagarajan was summoned last year as a
witness by New Delhi's anti-corruption police investigating
billing and discount practices involving government agencies
running liquor retail shops between 2017 and 2020.
    She did not appear before police but Diageo, through company
representatives, submitted many documents that were linked to
the three-year period, Reuters reported last August. 
    Nagarajan joined the company as CEO designate in April 2021,
and took over as managing director and chief executive two
months later.    

 (Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen
Soreng and Anil D'Silva)
 ((Ananta.agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))