Etika Holdings expands Santharuban Thurai Sundaram's CEO remit

Etika Holdings, which manufactures, distributes and markets renowned brands such as Pepsi, 7UP, Gatorade, Lipton and more, has expanded the role of its chief executive officer, Santharuban Thurai Sundaram. Santharuban, who has been overseeing the Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei markets, will now also oversee the group's exports. He had updated his position to CEO (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei & Exports) on LinkedIn over the weekend. Previously, the title of his role was CEO (Malaysia, Singapore, & Brunei).

A+M has reached out to Santharuban for comment. 

Don't miss: Wonda Coffee unveils limited-edition Keluang Man merch ahead of movie release

Santharuban has been the CEO at Etika Holdings for three years since April 2022, succeeding Khalid Alvi. At the time, he told A+M: "Etika is a great company that recognises and rewards our talents and I’m thankful for the opportunity to steer this organisation." He was previously Etika's senior vice president of marketing and alternate business, but took on the role of CEO at Atlas Vending in 2020, a company acquired by Etika. He was in the role for over a year and a half. 

Prior to that, Santharuban was the vice president for marketing at Etika between 2017 to 2019. And between 2013 to 2017, he was also a group marketing manager for the drinks distribution company. He also worked at Celcom Axiata as head of communications and planning, group digital services. From 2007 to 2011, Santharuban also worked at Etika as senior brand manager when the company was then known as Permanis. During his time there, he oversaw the launch of a few key brands such as Mountain Dew and Revive.

Besides running Etika, Santharuban is also a board member on the Malaysian Recycling Alliance and an adjunct professor at UNITAR International University, according to his LinkedIn profile.  According to its website, Etika Holdings is headquartered in Malaysia, and has established a distribution network across Singapore and Malaysia with over 40,000 direct customers. The group also has a presence across key markets in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam. 

The fully integrated Halal beverage company to offers all categories of beverages in the Malaysian market across 18 brands. It is also the exclusive manufacturer distributor of PepsiCo. 

Most recently, Wonda Coffee, a brand under Etika Holdings, released exclusive limited-edition Keluang Man merchandise. This comes ahead of the live-action Astro Shaw movie's release on 29 May 2025. In line with the theme of superheroes, Wonda Coffee announced the release of the exclusive merchandise with comic-themed posts on social media. Wonda Coffee's latest Keluang Man merchandise release includes exclusive keychains, comics, mini action figures, and a special Keluang Man umbrella. However, fans will have to head to four different locations if they want to redeem it all.

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