Neville Noronha leaves Avenue Supermarts, Unilever’s new CEO Anshul Asawa

After serving Avenue Supermarts for more than two decades, Neville Noronha, one of India’s richest CEOs, has decided not to renew his candidacy at the parent company of the DMart chain of retail stores. His tenure at the company ends a year from now in January 2026, after which Unilever’s Anshul Asawa will fill his shoes.

“After more than two decades of exceptional leadership and a proud tenure at the helm of the business, Neville has chosen not to extend his contract. The Board of Directors respects his decision and is deeply grateful for his extraordinary contribution to the company,” Avenue Supermarts announced in a statement today. Curry.

The board of the company has appointed Anshul Asawa as the CEO with effect from March 15, 2025.

Also Read: DMart Q3 Results: Standalone profit up 6.5% to Rs. 785 crore, a jump of 17.5% in revenue

Noronha is one of India’s richest CEOs with around 1.95% stake in the company at the end of the September quarter as his stake in the Radhakishan Damani-owned company is worth around Rs. 4,700 crores.

He joined DMart in January 2004 and steered the company from its early years to its current position as the country’s largest supermarket chain.

“A hallmark of Neville’s leadership is his conviction that while business strategy is developed from a complex set of ideas and competing claims, effective execution requires that it be expressed in simple and precise terms, ensuring that it is easy to understand and at all levels. Everyone in the company is able to understand and implement it,” the company said.

Under his stewardship, DMart has reached significant milestones, including Rs. Crossing the annual turnover mark of 50,000 crores and growing from 5 stores when Noronha joined the company to over 380 stores now.

“I would like to place on record my appreciation for Neville’s vision and hard work in building the company to the scale it is today. He has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and dedication during his remarkably successful tenure. A leader One who saw the big picture but never lost. With an eye for detail, Neville ensured that growth and profit were not ends in themselves, but rather were products of efficiency, fairness and customer value,” of Avenue Supermarts. Chairman C.B. Bhave said.

Noting that Dmart is a business model that has a multi-decadal runway for growth, Noronha said if we do nothing else with simplicity, efficient costs, happy employees, deep value for customers and most importantly, we will always be relevant. Long time coming.

He said he would ensure a smooth transition till the end of his tenure and even then the company may require any advisers from time to time.

Who will be the new CEO of DMart?
IIT Roorkee and IIM Lucknow alumnus Anshul Asawa, who joins the company as CEO ex-officio from March 15, 2025, is expected to take over as MD and CEO on February 1, 2026, after Nevill’s term ends.

Asawa has a long tenure of 30 years at Unilever where he played leadership roles in product category development and developing impactful operations in India, Asia and Europe.

He currently serves as Unilever’s Country Head in Thailand and General Manager of the Home Care Business Unit in Greater Asia.

During his tenure of over 15 years in India, Anshul held key leadership positions in sales, marketing and distribution.

He led digitization efforts at HUL and was also at the forefront of pioneering product innovations for homecare.
Categories and sales and distribution changes in urban and rural markets in India. He is known for his consumer-centricity, business discipline and focus on execution.