{"id":44206,"date":"2026-08-14T11:22:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T06:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44206"},"modified":"2026-08-14T11:22:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T06:22:39","slug":"indian-american-ceo-recalls-unilever-boss-buying-him-business-class-ticket-after-fathers-death-never-forgotten-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44206","title":{"rendered":"Indian-American CEO recalls Unilever boss buying him business-class ticket after father&#8217;s death: \u2018Never forgotten it\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"storyParagraphFigure\">\n<p class=\"content\">An Indian-American CEO has remembered with gratitude the time his former boss bought him a business class ticket so he could fly home after his father\u2019s death. Sanjay Khosla, a corporate leader with five decades of experience, started his career with Unilever. Today the CEO of Bunnik LLC, he was once a young employee at Unilever London who was left scrambling to get home to Delhi after receiving the news of his father\u2019s sudden death.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"artImage leadImage\">\n<div class=\" \"><picture class=\"leadImageClass\"><source media=\"(min-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2026\/08\/14\/960x540\/1517732182343_1786682095757_1786682107201_6a19eeb1-3f5a-490e-9c87-5876ebd5db83.jpg\" alt=\"Sanjay Khosla remembered an act of kindness by a former manager.\"\/><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2026\/08\/14\/400x225\/1517732182343_1786682095757_1786682107201_6a19eeb1-3f5a-490e-9c87-5876ebd5db83.jpg\" alt=\"Sanjay Khosla remembered an act of kindness by a former manager.\" title=\"Sanjay Khosla remembered an act of kindness by a former manager.\" width=\"360\" height=\"202\" loading=\"eager\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"\">Sanjay Khosla remembered an act of kindness by a former manager.<span\/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"content \">Khosla worked at Unilever for 27 years, leaving in 2004 to join Fonterra. It has been more than two decades since he left Unilever, but he still remembers the act of kindness that allowed him to fly home after his father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The Indian-origin CEO recounted the incident in a LinkedIn post yesterday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \"><strong>(Also read: <\/strong><a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/trending\/indian-company-gives-employee-a-month-off-after-father-s-death-pays-20-medical-bills-101786600355144.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"Indian company gives employee a month off after father\u2019s death, pays 20% medical bills\"><strong>Indian company gives employee a month off after father\u2019s death, pays 20% medical bills<\/strong><\/a><strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"content \">\n<h2>A business class ticket<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cMany years back, I was working at Unilever based in London. It was a beautiful Saturday in June when I got a call from my brother in Delhi. My dad had passed away suddenly,\u201d Khosla recalled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"content \">For Khosla, everything changed in an instant. He wanted to fly out immediately, but all the flights from London to Delhi that day were sold out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cI scrambled to get a flight ticket immediately, but all of the flights that day were sold out,\u201d the former <a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/topic\/unilever\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"Unilever\">Unilever <\/a>employee recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">That\u2019s when his boss at Unilever stepped in to arrange a ticket for him. When Khosla called up his boss to inform him that he would not be in office over the next few days, his boss told him to wait for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cGive me 30 minutes. I\u2019ll call you back,\u201d he told Khosla.<\/p>\n<div class=\"content \">\n<h2>A memorable act of kindness<\/h2>\n<p>Thirty minutes later, the phone rang. It was Khosla\u2019s boss calling to tell him: \u201cThere is a business-class ticket from London to Delhi waiting for you at the British Airways counter at Heathrow. Everything has been taken care of. Go be with your family.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"content \">Years later, Sanjay Khosla is still grateful for that act of kindness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">In his LinkedIn post, he said that the business class ticket was more than a way to get home \u2014 it was a symbolic hug, proof that someone cared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it. At a moment when everything felt like it was falling apart, he made one thing easier,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">The <a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/trending\/dear-ceo-bro-indian-american-ceo-shares-candidate-s-quirky-email-with-surprising-subject-line-101761300950788.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"Indian-American CEO\">Indian-American CEO<\/a> said that there are two main reasons why people stay with companies for years \u2013 \u201cHugs and money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">While money is very important, \u201cpeople also need HUGS,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cMoney is important. I will never knock money. Pay people well. Reward them. Recognize the value they create.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cBut people also need HUGS. They need to know you care. That you will show up when life gets difficult. That you have their back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cThat plane ticket was a HUG. And I have never forgotten it,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Indian-American CEO has remembered with gratitude the time his former boss bought him a business class ticket so he could fly home after his father\u2019s death. Sanjay Khosla, a corporate leader with five decades of experience, started his career with Unilever. Today the CEO of Bunnik LLC, he was once a young employee at&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2026\/08\/14\/1600x900\/logo\/1517732182343_1786682095757_1786682107201_6a19eeb1-3f5a-490e-9c87-5876ebd5db83.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}