V. Narayanan (83), who served as the chairman and managing director of Pond’s India Ltd., which became part of Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL), and who served on the board of HLL, passed away on Thursday.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
An alumnus of Lawrence School at Lovedale and Loyola College, Mr. Narayanan began his career in 1959 as a management trainee in HLL (now HUL). In his ten years there, he served in the sales and marketing functions, both in India and in the U.K.
He returned to India in 1968 and joined Chesebrough Pond’s Inc. as marketing director. He became chairman and CEO of Pond’s (India) and served the company till 1997. “He was a super visionary and a great humanitarian,” said V. Balaraman, who succeeded Mr. Narayanan as Managing Director of Pond’s India.
“He... trusted employees and gave them plenty of freedom. He believed competence had no meaning unless there was character and culture,” he added.
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