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Ira Noviarti takes helms of Unilever Indonesia after shareholders approval
The appointment makes Ira the second female to lead Unilever Indonesia in its 87 years of business.
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Publicly-listed consumer giant Unilever Indonesia's headquarters in Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD), South Tangerang. (File/unilever.co.id)
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hareholders of consumer goods giant PT Unilever Indonesia approved Ira Noviarti’s appointment as the company’s new president director to replace Hemant Bakshi in an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Wednesday.
The appointment makes Ira the second female to lead the company in its 87 years of business.
“Her experience at Unilever in various senior management positions, along with her track record, knowledge and understanding of the industry and Indonesian market has convinced us that she can take the company to the next level of success,”Unilever corporate secretary Reski Damayanti said in a statement.
Prior to assuming the post, Ira was the company’s director of beauty and personal care since 2018. The University of Indonesia graduate was also the managing director of Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) Southeast Asia from 2014 to 2017.
Under her leadership, UFS Southeast Asia recorded the best global performance three years in a row.
Read also: Unilever Indonesia builds on ‘recession-proof’ product portfolio amid weak demand
Ira said she would focus on providing quality products for consumers’ daily needs.
“We will also partner to succeed with customers and various stakeholders to achieve long-term, sustainable growth,” she said.
The company’s shareholders also appointed Bakshi as the company’s new president commissioner, replacing Maurits Lalisang. Bakshi will also lead the global division at Unilever with a scope of supervision that included Indonesia.
In addition, the publicly listed company appointed Reski as Unilever’s director to replace Sancoyo Antarikso, who retired after more than 30 years of working for the company.
The publicly listed company recorded a 1.29 percent year-on-year (yoy) drop in net profit to Rp 5.44 trillion (US$370.3 million) as of Sept. 30, while its sales grew 0.3 percent yoy to Rp 32.46 trillion during the period amid weakening purchasing power.
In anticipation of a sustained decrease in consumption, the company plans to introduce less expensive products and innovate to accommodate the shift in consumer demand.
Unilever’s stocks, traded at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the code UNVR, dropped 0.96 percent as of 12:03 p.m. Jakarta time on Wednesday, while the main gauge, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), gained 0.23 percent. The stocks have lost 7.44 percent of their value so far this year.
