Unilever Sri Lanka gets new head

Carl Cruz assumed duties as Chairman of Unilever Sri Lanka on March 1, taking over from Shazia Syed who returned to Pakistan to assume duties as the Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Pakistan.

He arrived in Sri Lanka from the Philippines, where he last served as the Vice President of Customer Development for Unilever Philippines.

Joining Unilever immediately after graduating from university in 1992, Cruz began his career in General Trade before eventually becoming the company's first General Trade Development Manager.

In 1999, as the Sales Development and Trade Marketing Manager, he set up Unilever's Category Management and Retail Solutions which was critical in attaining thought leadership in the Philippines retail trade.

In his 24 years with the organisation, Cruz has gained an extensive breadth and depth of experience in Customer Development and Marketing in the Philippines, Thailand and India.

Cruz said, "Sri Lanka is an important market for us and these are exciting times for the country. Over the past two years, the Unilever Sri Lanka team has worked diligently to ensure the growth of business and delivered exceptional results."

"We have the right mindset and ambition to capitalise on the current situation. I look forward to energising our team, building on the gains we have made and bringing to life our vision of improving the lives of Sri Lankan consumers," he said.