VLCC, the 3-decade old beauty and wellness company, has appointed seasoned business leader Vikas Gupta as their new CEO, just months after private equity firm Carlyle acquired a majority stake in the company.
Vikas Gupta, a seasoned business executive and former CEO of Nykaa’s wholesale arm SuperStore, has been appointed as the new Group CEO of skincare and cosmetics leader VLCC. The appointment comes just months after private equity firm Carlyle acquired a majority stake in the over-30-year-old brand in December 2022.
Vikas Gupta, a seasoned leader with more than two decades of experience in the FMCG industry, held several top positions in India and abroad at FMCG giant Unilever. He joined Walmart-owned Flipkart as its Chief Customer and Marketing Officer in 2019. Gupta was then appointed to lead Nykaa’s SuperStore in 2021, owned by billionaire Falguni Nayar, before being appointed as the new Group CEO of skincare and cosmetics leader VLCC this week.
According to reports, Vikas Gupta was one of the five senior executives who resigned from Nykaa recently. Other executives who also resigned were Gopal Asthana, the Chief Business Officer of Nykaa Fashion, Shuchi Pandya, the Business Head, Lalit Pruthi, the Finance Head, and Manoj Gandhi, the Chief Commercial Operations Officer.
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Nykaa referred to these resignations as “voluntary and involuntary exits” that are typical in a rapidly growing consumer tech organization with over 3,000 employees.
Vikas Gupta completed his schooling in Karnal, Haryana, before obtaining a degree in mechanical engineering from Delhi College of Engineering. He later pursued an MBA degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow. With over two decades of experience in the FMCG sector, Vikas previously held top positions at Unilever, where he led the company’s largest single-category brand with a turnover of $4 billion. Recently, he was appointed as the Group CEO of VLCC, where he will oversee the company’s business spread across skincare, beauty, and wellness.
VLCC was established in 1989 by Vandana Luthra and Mukesh Luthra. In January 2023, it was reported that Carlyle, an investment firm, had acquired a majority stake in VLCC. Although the financial details of the deal were not disclosed, sources estimated it to be around Rs 2,453 crore ($300 million) for a 70% stake. Despite the acquisition, founders Vandana and Mukesh Luthra retained a significant stake in the company and collaborated with Carlyle to strengthen the management team. The recent appointment of seasoned FMCG executive Vikas Gupta as Group CEO is part of VLCC’s new direction.
