Rakesh Kapoor to resign as Reckitt chief

Rakesh Kapoor, one of Britain’s highest paid bosses, the Dettol man is to step down as the chief executive of consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser by the end of the year. The announcement  sent the group’s share  down 4.2 per cent  in London. He led from the top of the Dettol maker  and baby formula Enfamil and brands like Durex, since September 2011 and achieved strong results despite two years of problems including disruption to manufacturing  in the Netherlands and a botched product launch , a cyber attack and a scandal in South Korea in which more than 100 people died after using toxic humidifier sterilisers.  Mr Kapoor responded by splitting the group into two separate business in early 2018 – one to focus on healthcare and the other on home and cleaning products.  The company’s shares have nearly doubled since he took over with a  peak in Summer 2017.

Mr Kapoor’s tenure  was marked by  his unique combination of knowledge of marketing knowhow and an obsession with profit margin coupled with strong sales  growth and plaudits from investors who respected his operational acumen and industry-leading margins.

His acquisition of Mead Johnson announced in February 2017, changed all that as the shares underperformed the FTSE 100 index since. The $16.6billion deal stretched Reckitt’s management too thin, leaving it vulnerable to the Petya cyber attach a few months later.