Abanti Sankaranarayanan

An accomplished business leader with over two decades experience across general management, marketing, public policy, corporate reputation and sustainability in the consumer products and luxury industry. A considerable part of her career was spent with the Tata Group, as part of the elite Tata Administrative Services (TAS), managing some of the best known consumer brands of the Group in India, United Kingdom and the United States. In her 17 years career with the Tata group, Abanti worked across various companies & geographies such as Tata Global Beverages in London, the Taj Group of Hotels in Mumbai & New York and Tata Housing & Tata Finance in Mumbai. In June 2010 she joined Diageo, a global leader in alcohol beverage & was responsible for building Diageo’s iconic global brands - Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, VAT 69, Cîroc amongst others in India. She went on to take the mantle of Managing Director, Diageo India Private Ltd responsible for its business, brands & people in India. She played a pivotal role in Diageo’s integration with USL, India’s largest alcohol beverage company. In 2015 as part of the integrated organization she took on the responsibility of setting up the Corporate Relations function & leading the Luxury portfolio, a first for USL. Currently, Abanti plays a critical role in industry matters, alcohol policy, regulatory campaigns & reputation management. Abanti is part of the 8- member, apex Executive Committee of USL. She also serves on the CII National Committee on FMCG, Vice Chairperson of ASCI & member of the board of ISWAI (industry body for domestic alcohol beverage producers in India), the Chairman of Four Seasons Wines Ltd & a member of the Board of Directors of Shoppers Stop Ltd. Her contribution to the business has been recognized by Fortune India (The Most Powerful Women in Business - 2012, 2014, 2015 & 2016), India Today (India’s 25 Most Influential Women, 2013) & Fast Company, New York (100 Most Creative People in Business, 2012).