Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) surged nearly 4 per cent on Friday to become one of the top Nifty 50 gainers, after the FMCG giant announced the appointment of Priya Nair as its new Managing Director and CEO. This key leadership change is seen as a positive trigger for the stock, which opened with a bullish gap and hit an intraday high of Rs 2,518.65 on the BSE.

Nair’s five-year term as MD & CEO will begin on August 1, 2025, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. She succeeds Rohit Jawa, who will demit office on July 31, marking a smooth and planned leadership transition at the FMCG major.

Anil Singhvi’s target

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi sees strength in HUL’s structure post the management change. In a special segment on Zee Business, Singhvi said:”HUL is a buy with a stop loss at Rs 2,390. Short-term targets are Rs 2,435, Rs 2,455, and Rs 2,475.”

He noted that the change in leadership brings fresh energy to the counter, and the market is responding positively to Priya Nair’s deep-rooted experience within HUL and Unilever globally.

Who is Priya Nair?

Nair, a company veteran who joined HUL in 1995, has served in several senior roles across home care, beauty, and personal care categories. She was Executive Director of Home Care (2014–2020) and Beauty & Personal Care (2020–2022) before rising to become Global CMO and then President of Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever. Her return to India as CEO is being viewed as a move that could unlock stronger performance for HUL’s core categories.

Chairman Nitin Paranjpe lauded Nair’s market knowledge and called her elevation a strategic step to drive future growth.

Technical view

According to Angel One’s Rajesh Bhosale, the stock formed a bullish Saucer breakout, with the April swing high taken out. The current support lies at Rs 2,440, while the next resistance levels are seen at Rs 2,650 and Rs 2,750, signalling potential upside.