Shailesh Jejurikar, an India-born executive and current Chief Operating Officer of Procter & Gamble (P&G), is set to take over as the CEO and President of the global consumer goods giant on January 1, 2026. With this appointment, Jejurikar will become the first India-born CEO in P&G’s nearly two-century history—marking a significant moment for global leadership and Indian corporate influence.
From Assistant Brand Manager to Global Chief
Jejurikar’s P&G journey began in 1989 when he joined the company as an Assistant Brand Manager in India. Over the next three decades, he rose through the ranks, managing operations across continents, leading iconic product categories like Tide, Ariel, and Downy, and most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the company’s massive global operations.
A Classmate of Satya Nadella, Head Boy at Hyderabad Public School
Jejurikar’s academic story is as compelling as his professional one. Born to a Maharashtrian father and Gujarati mother, he spent his early years in various company colonies—an upbringing shared with his brother, Rajesh Jejurikar, now a top executive at Mahindra & Mahindra.
In Class 8, Shailesh joined Hyderabad Public School (HPS), where he became head boy and studied alongside Satya Nadella, now the CEO of Microsoft. A gifted student and a state-level cricketer, he later earned an Economics degree from Elphinstone College, Mumbai, followed by an MBA from IIM Lucknow, graduating in 1989—the same year he joined P&G.
Global Roles, Regional Insights
From 1996 to 2008, Jejurikar led P&G operations across India, East Africa, Korea, Singapore, and ASEAN regions. Later, in North America, he oversaw product categories that contributed nearly a third of P&G’s revenue, including Febreze and Surface Care brands.
By 2019, he was heading Global Fabric and Home Care, followed by his appointment as Executive Sponsor for Global Sustainability, and then COO in 2021, where he managed enterprise markets spanning Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East—in addition to global supply chains, sales, IT, and manufacturing.
Family Man with Global Curiosity
According to his brother Rajesh, Shailesh remains deeply connected to his roots. “He’s very attached to his family and enjoys reading and travelling. And when it comes to food—nothing beats our mother’s cooking,” he shared.
Jejurikar’s leadership style is marked by cultural sensitivity, operational precision, and a long-term strategic lens—attributes that have positioned him well to lead P&G, a company with brands present in virtually every household across the globe.
A 200-Year-Old Company, A New Global Face
P&G, valued at over $84 billion (~₹7 lakh crore), is behind some of the most trusted global brands: Vicks, Pampers, Gillette, Tide, Ariel, and Oral-B, among others. Jejurikar will take over from current CEO Jon Moeller, who described him as a “strategic, decisive leader with a track record of delivering growth and innovation.”As Indian-origin CEOs increasingly lead global giants, from Satya Nadella (Microsoft) to Sundar Pichai (Google/Alphabet), Shailesh Jejurikar’s rise adds another inspiring chapter to that legacy. In his own words,“What helped me succeed across different countries is being comfortable with discomfort and being deeply curious about different cultures and people.”
