Nationality Indian | Name Rakesh Kapoor Role Businessman | |
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Born 4 August 1958 (age 65) ( 1958-08-04 ) Bareilly, India Alma mater Birla Institute of Technology and Science
XLRI- Xavier School of Management Salary GBP £11.2 million (2014) Education Birla Institute of Technology and Science | ||
Occupation CEO, Reckitt Benckiser | ||
Rakesh Kapoor (born 4 August 1958) is an Indian businessman. He is chief executive (CEO) of Reckitt Benckiser plc, a UK FTSE-listed multinational consumer goods company, a major producer of health, hygiene and home products.
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Early life
Kapoor was educated at Modern School, New Delhi, India. Kapoor has a BE (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, and an MBA from XLRI- Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, India.
Career
Kapoor joined RB when it was known, pre-merger with Benckiser, as Reckitt & Colman in 1987, serving in various roles including: Regional Sales Manager, North India; General Manager, Indian Southern Region; and Regional Marketing Director, South Asia. In 1999, he was appointed Global Category Director, Pest Control. Following the merger, he assumed the role of Senior Vice President, Home Care. He was appointed SVP, Regional Director, Northern Europe in 2001 and in July 2006, he was promoted to EVP, Category Development, with responsibility for global category management, research and development, media, market research and strategic alliances.
Following discussions with the Financial Services Authority, Reckitt Benckiser belatedly admitted in October 2012, that in 2010 Kapoor had secured a loan against £7.4m worth of shares in the company. Such undisclosed loans are considered more likely to distort an executive's behaviour than borrowings that are open and known to all. This issue of executive disclosures rose to prominence in 2008 when Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross had to resign after undisclosed use of £201 million in shares as collateral came to light. According to The Daily Telegraph, "A spokesman for the company said the failure to disclose the loans to the market was not the fault of Mr Kapoor who had told the company of the situation. "
Compensation
His salary for 2015 was £23.2 million.
Investor backlash
In March 2014, in the wake of similar investor backlash protests over compensation for executives at Pearson, Barclays Bank, WPP, which are also listed on the The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index — a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization — over 40 per cent of Reckitt Benckiser shareholders refused to support the company’s remuneration report.
Personal life
Kapoor is an accomplished bridge player and a keen football and cricket fan.