The Hershey Company, a leading global snacking company and the largest producer of quality chocolates in North America, announced the appointment of Geetika Mehta, as Managing Director, India effective July 1, 2021.
“India continues to remain a key focus market for Hershey International and the organization is committed to talent development and building leadership. Mehta’s appointment will further strengthen the leadership at Hershey India,” the company said in a press statement.
She will be reporting into Herjit Bhalla, VP, India and AEMEA at The Hershey Company who was recently elevated to a global role. Bhalla reports directly to Rohit Grover, President, Hershey International.
Mehta is a seasoned leader who brings over 18 years of experience across commercial and consumer marketing. She has held important leadership roles in FMCG and food businesses for more than a decade, and has managed various categories including soups, noodles, spice mixes amongst others. She has also led the laundry detergents category for Unilever in markets like South Asia, Thailand, Brazil and South Africa. In her previous role at Hindustan Unilever as the General Manager for the Home and Hygiene business, Mehta delivered market-beating results on both top and bottom line and set up the business for sustained growth.
Bhalla said, “The Indian market is of significant importance to us and is critical to our long-term growth plans. In our endeavor to further strengthen the leadership and drive resilient growth and execution, we are delighted to have Geetika onboard. With a proven track record of building and nurturing small businesses and leading growth for large businesses and driving profitability and turnaround, I am confident that Geetika will successfully lead the Hershey India team into the next phase of growth, scale and evolution.”
Mehta said, “I am excited to start my new journey and be a part of the wonderful narrative at Hershey India. My central focus will be on the next phase of growth in developing a strong, multi-category play while strengthening positions across key growth segments. I look forward to script a strong growth story in India with the immensely talented team here.”