Samir Singh announces departure from Unilever after 27 years

Singapore – Samir Singh, most recently the chair of Unilever Asia and head of Unilever Singapore Hub, has announced that he is officially leaving the company after 27 years. He has already hinted of joining another company, which he will announce towards the end of the year.

In a LinkedIn post, he reflected on how he valued his time with the company related to his teams and the relationships he had built, as well as how culture is far more powerful than grand statements of vision and purpose. 

“What kept me at Unilever and Hindustan Unilever for such a long time, beyond the diversity of roles and locations, beyond the successes and failures, are the small and often overlooked joys of this everyday existence,” he stated.

Singh further added, “When the culture and values of an organisation are congruent with yours, it is possible to do well in business, disrupt the status quo, face many setbacks, and still totally enjoy the everyday ‘work’ of getting there.”

He first joined the company as an area sales manager in 1998 for Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever. He was then promoted to senior brand manager for skin care in 2001 before taking on a regional brand manager role for SEA and Middle East in 2003, and then as regional marketing director for skin care in SEA in 2005.

His first global leadership role came in 2006 when he was named Unilever’s global marketing director for skin care. At that time, he worked on the global marketing strategy for Unilever’s skin care brand Ponds. He was then named as global brand director for Vaseline based out Singapore in 2008, then as global brand vice president in 2010, where he lead the global branding strategy for Lifebuoy, Unilever’s soap brand.

Singh marked his return to Hindustan Unilever when he was named the executive director of personal care in 2014 before moving into a new global role as global executive vice president of skin cleansing in 2016. He was then promoted to the role of EVP for global skin cleansing and oral care in 2020 then as chief marketing officer for personal care in 2022.