Chief Group Public Affairs Officer & Member of Group Executive Board
Mahindra Group

Abanti Sankaranarayanan, leads Group Public Affairs (India & international), Group Sustainability and Group Risk & Economist functions at Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. She is also a member of the Group Executive Board.

Prior to joining Mahindra, she was Head of the Strategy and Corporate Affairs function at Diageo India and a member of its Executive Committee. Her responsibilities included Alcohol Policy, Regulatory & Trade matters, Market Access, Corporate Communications & Reputation and programs to address alcohol misuse, champion responsible consumption and deliver Social Impact. As head of Strategy, she led the strategy development and execution for Diageo’s business in India. Prior to this, Abanti was Managing Director, Diageo India Pvt Ltd, leading Diageo’s business mandate for international spirits in India.

Abanti joined Diageo in June 2010 as the Marketing and Innovation Director responsible for building Diageo’s iconic global brands like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, VAT 69 and Cîroc.

Prior to Diageo, Abanti served as a member of the Tata Administrative Service (TAS) cadre since 1992, in an illustrious career where she held key roles managing some of the best-known consumer brands of the Tata Group in India, United Kingdom and the United States. In her 17-year career with the Tata group, Abanti worked across various companies such as Tata Global Beverages, London, the Taj Group of Hotels- Mumbai & New York, Tata Housing & Tata Finance in Mumbai.

Abanti’s contribution to the business have been recognised by Fortune India (The Most Powerful Women in Business; 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016), IMPACT (50 Most Influential Women in Media, Marketing and Advertising; 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017), India Today (India’s 25 Most Influential Women, 2013) and Fast Company, New York (100 Most Creative People in Business, 2012).

Abanti is an Economics Graduate from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.