Richmond, Virginia, USA: Universal Corporation has announced the appointment of Anubhav Mittal as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective February 17. He will succeed Johan Kroner, who is set to retire.

Mittal brings nearly two decades of experience in finance leadership, corporate strategy, and business transformation across global consumer products, agriculture, and ingredients sectors. Most recently, he served as CFO of ADM Nutrition, an approximately $8 billion business segment of Archer Daniels Midland Company.

During his tenure at ADM Nutrition, Mittal was responsible for financial strategy, portfolio management, and growth initiatives across multiple international markets. His previous roles at ADM included CFO of Global Pet Solutions and Global Head of Business Development and Mergers and Acquisitions, where he led both organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions.

Commenting on the appointment, Preston D. Wigner, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation, said that Mittal brings a strong record of strategic execution and value creation. He highlighted Mittal’s extensive international experience and deep expertise in finance and corporate strategy as key strengths for leading Universal’s global finance organization.

Wigner also noted that Mittal’s background in consumer products, large-scale global agriculture, and food ingredients would support the company’s long-term strategies across its tobacco and ingredients businesses.

Expressing his views on the new role, Mittal said he was honored to join Universal at a time of opportunity. He added that the company has a strong foundation for growth and a clearly defined strategy to drive momentum across its business segments. Mittal stated that he looks forward to working closely with the leadership team, Board of Directors, and the global finance organization to deliver long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders.

Prior to ADM, Mittal held senior finance and strategy roles at Kellogg Company, worked in strategy and operations at Booz & Company, and began his professional career at Unilever in India. He has also worked in public sector roles with the Government of India.

Mittal holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.