Nestlé Lanka announces management change

Nestlé Lanka has announced that Managing Director Shivani Hegde will be moving to Nestlé’s global headquarters in Switzerland. She will lead the development of the ambient culinary category for the Nestlé Group across Asia, Oceania and Africa. 

Nestlé’s local operations will be taken over by Fabrice Cavallin, currently Regional Business Head – Infant Nutrition for South Asia, effective 1 January 2019.  

Shivani Hegde joined Nestlé in India as a Management Trainee in 1986, equipped with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She has been with Nestlé for 32 years, during which she has served as Head of Human Resources for Nestlé India, Chairperson of Nestlé’s R&D Centre in India, Executive Vice President of Nestlé’s food business in South Asia, and a member of Nestlé’s Global Marketing Leadership Council. She is currently an active member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and its Economic Policy Committee, representing the F&B industry on topics of national importance. 

Prior to her role in Nestlé Lanka, she was responsible for Nestlé India’s highest revenue-earning brand, Maggi, and was fondly known by media as ‘the mother of Maggi’. She grew the brand for more than 15 years to reach a 90% market share and become a household favourite for Indian families across the country. Generally referred to as the third ‘staple food’ of India after wheat and rice, in a country where noodles was not traditionally part of local food culture, Maggi was recognised as India’s ‘Most Powerful Brand’ in 2014 in a Brand Z study conducted by Kantar Millward Brown.   

Shivani took over Nestlé’s operations in Sri Lanka and the Maldives in January 2015. She was the first female Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka and the first female on the company’s Board. She placed a strong focus on laying the foundation for future growth during her time in the company, investing strongly in people, innovation, capacity and brands. 

Under her leadership, the company made its biggest investment of Rs. 5 billion to support its export of coconut-based products to 50 countries, and also launched a record number of product innovations and renovations to cater to local consumer preference. Her strong focus on people development provided over a third of the company’s executives with overseas training and assignments, and drove diversity-friendly policies and initiatives to ensure equal opportunity. She also launched the Nestlé Coconut Plan to secure coconut supply and farming livelihoods in Sri Lanka, and the Nestlé Needs YOUth program to provide young people with skills and training to enhance their employability. 

Since Shivani took the helm at Nestlé Lanka, the company has steadily gained recognition and respect from varying stakeholders, winning a number of significant awards and recognitions year on year for business performance, social contribution and people development. These include Sri Lanka’s Most Respected Food and Beverage Company, Most Valuable Food and Beverage Company, and Best Corporate Citizen in the Manufacturing Sector. 

Fabrice Cavallin, a Swiss national, started his career with Nestlé in Switzerland in 1995 as an International Auditor. His international career with Nestlé includes several successful General Management roles for Nestlé’s bottled water and nutrition business across the USA, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, Spain and India. In his current role, Fabrice has achieved outstanding results for the nutrition business in South Asia, delivering profitable volume growth in a highly competitive environment. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.