Rajesh Gopal joins Kimberly-Clark as chief information officer for APAC

American multinational personal care firm Kimberly-Clark has appointed Rajesh Gopal as chief information officer for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

With brands such as Huggies diapers, Kotex sanitary napkins and Kleenex tissues, the company made its foray in the India market in 1995 in a joint venture with Hindustan Unilever. In September 2017, after ending its JV with Unilever, it started independent operations.

The company also has its Global Digital Technology Centre (GDTC) in Bangalore in 2019 which serve to digitise its global supply chain, create AI-equipped sales tools, and leverage robotic process automation for its customer service operations.

In his new role, Gopal will be responsible for driving the company’s technology and digital transformation and driving business growth in the region.

With close to two decades of experience in the IT industry, Gopal has worked across multiple IT domains and business processes and led various digital and technology initiatives.

Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Gopal worked with Indian conglomerate ITC Limited as chief Information and Digital officer. He joined the company in June 2022, where he was responsible for leading the digital transformation for ITC across its businesses.

Prior to that he joined French personal care company L’Oréal’s India division in September 2019 as the chief information officer. At L’Oréal, he led the company’s digital transformation efforts and his key responsibilities were developing and executing IT strategies.

Prior to joining L’Oréal, Gopal led the IT team at Unilever for the Global Procurement and Finance function for 14 years. He also delivered technology solutions that supported operations in more than 150 countries at Unilever.

In his LinkedIn profile, he mentions that he is “passionate about building tech, data and digital foundation.”

Gopal holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu, and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.