A Jesuit product of 1969 batch of St. Xavier’s School. Delhi.

Harish graduated from Mumbai University. He also obtained Master's Degree in Management studies at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) and studied Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
In 1976, Manwani joined the then Hindustan Lever Limited. He became a member of the board and took the responsibility of Personal Products business as Director. He also took care of business group in Central Asia and Middle East.
He became Senior Vice President of Global Hair Care and Oral Care in 2001 and moved to UK. Next year he was appointed President of Home and Personal Care of Latin America division. He was also made Chairman of Unilever's Latin America Advisory Council.
He became President and CEO of HPC North America in 2004.
He joined Unilever in 2005 as President of Asia and Africa division. He was also made non-executive chairman of Hindustan Unilever.
He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Indian School of Business and serves on the Supervisory Board of ING Groep NV.
The Asia Business Leader of the Year is awarded to Mr. Harish Manwani of Unilever Asia / Africa for effectively capitalizing on global trends and inspiring growth for his company. Unilever’s 8.8% growth in 2006 is largely attributable to Mr. Harish’s ability to motivate staff and grow profitability. Mr. Harish has led the way in retaining loyal customers, helping Unilever to remain market leaders in almost every category.

Mr. Harish’s innovative, visionary leadership has helped build a strong core of local management teams across the 44 operating companies under the Unilever umbrella. Mr. Harish has emphasized the need to develop leaders who understand the changing landscape of commercial trade, and he has been actively involved in nurturing a core of solid leaders to ensure continued success for Unilever. Mr. Harish’s ability to bring top management strategies to rural people within Unilever’s work staff has proven very effective in maximizing the potential of the work force. Coupled with Mr. Harish’s commitment to community services, his work with the entire workforce demonstrates his drive toward increasing effectiveness in Unilever’s business leadership.
Harish is married and has two daughters. He spends his leisure time with his family and enjoys playing golf and an occasional game of bridge.