Britannia Strengthens Dairy Division with Key Leadership Appointments Amid Strategic Realignment
In a significant move aimed at accelerating growth within its dairy business and sales transformation initiatives, Britannia Industries Ltd has announced significant changes to its senior leadership team. These appointments are effective from 15 December 2025, aligning with the company’s renewed strategic focus on high-potential categories like dairy.
Leadership Shake-up to Boost Dairy Strategy
Subhashis Basu has been appointed as the new Chief Business Officer – Dairy. With over three decades of experience in leadership roles across the FMCG and dairy sectors, Basu brings a wealth of knowledge from his tenure at top consumer goods firms and dairy cooperatives. His expertise is expected to play a pivotal role in scaling up Britannia’s dairy portfolio, streamlining procurement strategies, and enhancing consumer reach in both value-added and core milk-based segments.
Basu’s notable career achievements include:
- Serving as CEO of Anik Milk Products Pvt. Ltd.
- Acting as Chief Commercial Director at Lactalis India, where he led the complex integration of Anik, Tirumala, and Prabhat under a unified business strategy
- Driving the IPO of Prataap Snacks Limited
- Spearheading high-growth initiatives at Mother Dairy
- Holding key leadership roles at PepsiCo and Parle Products
- Leading the launch of iconic health-food brands such as Quaker Oats in India
His track record highlights a proven ability to scale organisations, manage multi-brand integrations, and deliver sustainable growth even in volatile market conditions. Basu holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Calcutta.
At Britannia, he is expected to steer the company’s dairy portfolio with a sharp focus on innovation, margin expansion, and market share enhancement across both urban and rural India.
Basu takes over from Abhishek Sinha, who has now been elevated to the newly created position of Chief Sales Transformation Officer. Sinha, a Britannia veteran since 2005, has held several key leadership roles across business verticals, most recently leading the dairy division. His appointment signals the company’s intent to digitise and modernise its sales infrastructure, with dairy sales optimisation expected to benefit from these broader transformation efforts.
Part of a Larger Vision Under New CEO Leadership
These structural changes coincide with the appointment of Rakshit Hargave as Britannia’s new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, also effective from 15 December. Hargave, who brings extensive experience from leadership roles at companies such as Birla Opus and L’Oréal, is expected to steer Britannia through its next phase of category expansion and supply chain innovation.
The realignment comes at a time when India’s dairy sector is experiencing dynamic shifts—rising demand for value-added products, fluctuating milk procurement prices, and increasing emphasis on sustainable dairy practices.
Industry analysts believe that Britannia’s revamped leadership is a strategic response to these evolving market conditions. The appointments are poised to bring sharper focus to growth in the dairy category, particularly on value-added offerings such as cheese, flavoured milk, yoghurt, and fortified dairy products.
Market Confidence Remains High
Following the leadership announcement, Britannia’s share price rose modestly by approximately 1.5%, signalling investor confidence in the company’s renewed organisational direction.
As the Indian dairy industry becomes more competitive, Britannia’s targeted approach—combining experienced leadership with modernisation—may well set a benchmark for private players navigating both retail and cooperative-led dairy markets.
