Unilever appoints Faraz Zaidi as Head of HR for global operations

Unilever has appointed Faraz Zaidi as Head of HR for Global Customer Operations, tasking him with leading the people agenda across its worldwide customer operations function, according to company information.

In the role, Zaidi will work closely with senior leadership to align talent, capability and organisational culture with business priorities. His mandate includes organisation design, workforce planning, productivity enhancement and supporting large-scale transformation initiatives.

Expanded remit in global operations

Zaidi’s elevation reflects a broader strategic emphasis on integrating people strategy with operational performance. He will oversee HR interventions across global customer operations, a critical function that supports execution across markets and channels.

The role places him at the centre of decision-making on workforce structure and capability building as Unilever continues to evolve its operating model.

Long tenure across markets and functions

Zaidi brings more than 15 years of experience at Unilever, where he has held a range of global, regional and country-level HR roles. Most recently, he served as HR Director for Global Business Services, leading HR across multiple service lines and managing a workforce of more than 2,500 employees.

His earlier assignments include HR Director roles in Uniops in Market, covering technology, data and analytics, and people experience, as well as HR Director for Supply Chain in NAMET. Across these positions, he has led transformation programmes, organisational redesign efforts and capability development initiatives.

He also served as Global Employee Experience Lead, where he worked on capturing employee feedback at scale and introduced frameworks such as the Experience Lab.

Career foundations and background

Before joining Unilever, Zaidi worked at MCB Bank Ltd., where he handled compensation, benefits and performance management. He began his career at IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, gaining early experience in business and client engagement.

He holds an MBA in Human Resources from the Institute of Business Management.

Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, with products used by more than 3.4 billion people daily. Its portfolio includes brands such as Dove, Rexona, Hellmann’s and Domestos.

The appointment signals a continued focus on strengthening organisational capability and aligning workforce strategy with business transformation priorities.