Godrej Consumer Products appoints Aasif Malbari as new CEO after Sitapati’s exit 

For a company that has spent the last few years talking about transformation, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) now finds itself undergoing one of its own. 

GCPL has appointed Aasif Malbari as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 12, following the resignation of Sudhir Sitapati. The move is significant not only because it brings an unexpected end to Sitapati’s five-year tenure, but because Malbari represents something more reassuring than a dramatic change of direction: continuity with a different lens.  

Sitapati’s departure is particularly striking because he had only recently been reappointed for another five-year term, beginning October 18, 2026. His decision to step down therefore came as a surprise to investors and the wider FMCG industry.  

Yet his time at GCPL leaves behind a business that is materially different from the one he inherited in 2021. Under his leadership, the company simplified its portfolio, sharpened its focus on category development and invested behind its core franchises, while also attempting to make its international businesses more consistent engines of growth. 

The results have increasingly begun to show. In FY2026, GCPL reported consolidated revenue growth of 11%, underlying volume growth of 6% and EBITDA growth of 10%. Its India business delivered 8% underlying volume growth in the final quarter, while Africa, the US and Middle East grew strongly and Indonesia showed signs of stabilisation.  

That makes Malbari’s appointment particularly interesting. He is not an outsider arriving with a PowerPoint deck and a mandate to reinvent everything. Malbari has been GCPL’s Global CFO since 2023 and has also served as President of Godrej Africa and GCPL International. Before joining GCPL, he held senior roles across the FMCG and automotive sectors, including Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors. GCPL says he brings three decades of experience across the two industries.  

In other words, the new CEO already knows where the bodies are buried, where the opportunities lie and, importantly, where the numbers need to move. 

That matters because GCPL’s next phase is less about transformation for transformation’s sake and more about execution. The company has built a broad emerging-markets portfolio, spanning household insecticides, personal care, air fresheners, hair colour and other categories across India, Indonesia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.  

There are opportunities, but there are also unfinished jobs. Indonesia needs to convert its improving volume trends into stronger revenue growth. International businesses need to deliver growth without allowing margins to become an afterthought. In India, GCPL needs to keep gaining share while navigating competitive intensity, commodity costs and changing consumer behaviour. 

And there is a particularly interesting digital dimension. GCPL chairperson Nisaba Godrej has spoken about the need for stronger execution in online sales and digital marketing, suggesting that the next leg of growth will increasingly depend on how effectively the company reaches consumers beyond traditional distribution.  

There is also an element of humility in choosing an internal successor. Malbari inherits Sitapati’s architecture, but gets the opportunity to put his own stamp on it. 

For GCPL, then, this is not simply a CEO change. It is the beginning of a new chapter in a transformation that is still very much underway.