Piyush Jain joins personal care company Hand in Hand as CEO

06-Jul-2021 - Last updated on 06-Jul-2021 at 17:05 GMT

photo courtesy of the brand

Related tags purpose Bain Capital Personal care

Following a recent growth investment from the impact-investing strategy division of Bain Capital, the personal care product company announced changes in leadership, including the hire of former Unilever executive Piyush Jain.

Piyush Jain began his work with Unilever in the late 1990s and spent the past 6+ years as Global Brand Vice President in Hair Care. He is credited with launching and leading the company’s popular indie-like brand Love Beauty & Planet. And according to a recent press release announcing his move to Hand in Hand, Jain “also built a track record of success in the mass market channels of hair care, skin cleansing, bath and body, personal care and household—having led top brands including Dove, Lux, Suave, TRESemmé and AXE. He also steered Unilever's significant acquisition of natural beauty products company, Sundial Brands in 2017.”

Personal care with a purpose, Hand in Hand preps for next phase of growth

Founded by Bill Glaab and Courtney Apple in 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – based Hand in Hand is a purpose-driven personal care brand donating soap and water to children in need. And the brand’s focus on doing beauty better doesn’t stop there. Hand in Hand liquid soaps (shown at the top of the page) are packaged in aluminum and there are plans to start using that readily recycled material to packaging other products this year.

The purpose as much as the products drew Jain to the brand: “Hand in Hand's entrepreneurial story and its mission to drive a full spectrum of impact, from sustainability to social good and environmental advocacy is incredibly inspiring,” he tells the press.

“Bill and the Hand in Hand team have been able to directly align growth with impact – a core mission that is important to me both personally and professionally. I'm looking forward to working with Bill, the team and Bain Capital Double Impact to build on this incredible foundation and scale the company's growth and impact.”

Bill Glaab moves to new role as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

Untl now, Glaab served as CEO of the company he founded with Apple. But with the hire of Jain, he’s now taken a new post as the brand’s Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. “It's been an honor to work with the team to grow a mission-driven company over the past 10 years, and I look forward to leading from a new perspective as Executive Chairman,” says Glaab in a press release circulated late last month.

“Given his extensive experience at the intersection of the personal care industry and both philanthropy and sustainability efforts, I'm confident in Piyush's ability to push our efforts forward to make the world a cleaner, better place, and we will work in close coordination to assure a seamless transition,” adds Glaab.

As for the team at Bain Capital Double Impact, who invested in Hand in Hand this past April:“We are extremely proud of Hand in Hand's accomplishments under Bill's leadership, and we're thrilled to welcome Piyush's impressive track record building mission-driven natural product brands at this crucial point in the Company's growth journey,” according to Cecilia Chao, a Managing Director at Bain Capital Double Impact.

“We will,” she says, “be forever grateful for Bill's vision and leadership in creating and building an authentic mission-driven brand and inspiring the Hand in Hand team. We look forward to working together with Bill and Piyush to support Hand in Hand through its next phase of growth.”