Kris Licht Is Taking Over as CEO of Reckitt

Kris Licht is taking on the role of CEO at Reckitt beginning October 1, replacing Nicandro Durante, who has held the position since October 2022. 

The company initially announced Durante's departure in April of this year, with the board citing the transition as “building on the strong momentum in the business after three years of successful transformation.”

Licht has been with Reckitt since 2020. He previously served as president of the company’s health business, as well as chief customer officer.

Prior to his time with the company, he held several senior operational and strategic leadership roles at PepsiCo, including SVP of transformation and global strategy, and division president. He also previously worked with McKinsey & Co., with a focus on consumer and retail business. 

"It is an honor to have been appointed as the next CEO of Reckitt. Over the past four years, I have been privileged to be a part of the transformation journey and have seen the extraordinary ownership, entrepreneurial spirit, and drive for performance that our people demonstrate every day,” said Licht in an earlier statement. “While there is more work to be done to realize our full potential, I see strong momentum and believe it is truly an exciting time for Reckitt."

During the company’s last earnings call presentation this summer, Licht outlined his strategy for furthering this transformation, which includes investing in innovation and product superiority with emerging technologies like thermoforming, improving in-market executional excellence by embedding more digital and AI capabilities throughout the value chain, and delivering sustainable topline growth. 

Over the last several years, Reckitt has made strides in multiple areas of business, including campaign optimization and consumer analytics, leveraging tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Last year, the company created a central hub for its market and consumer insights in order to boost productivity and engagement, expedite internal research discovery, and elevate personalization efforts. Imteaz Ahamed, director of performance marketing at Reckitt, spoke on the topic at last year’s CGSM event.