New Delhi: Mahindra Group today appointed Abanti Sankaranarayanan as Chief Group Public Affairs Officer effective 1 July 2022. Sankaranarayanan will lead Group Public Affairs (India & international), Group Sustainability, and the Group Risk & Economist functions, said a company official statement.
She will be taking over the Group Public Affairs portfolio from Manoj Chugh, President, Group Public Affairs, retiring on 1 April 2023 and will be a part of the Group Executive Board reporting to Dr. Anish Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Group.
Speaking about the announcement, Dr. Anish Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Group, said, “Abanti is an accomplished business leader with vast experience across corporate affairs, social impact, strategy and managing large businesses. I am confident that she will be able to build the functions and help us in achieving our goals.”
“I would also like to thank Manoj Chugh for his exemplary services to the Mahindra Group. He has been an integral part of our growth journey, contributing significantly to the organization in his various roles. I wish him all the best,” he further added.
Before joining the Mahindra Group, Abanti was Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer & Member – Executive Committee at Diageo India where her responsibilities included Public Policy, Regulatory and Trade, Market Access, Corporate Communication, Corporate Social Impact, Strategy and Ventures.
She joined Diageo India as a Marketing and Innovation leader in 2010 and was subsequently promoted to Managing Director, Diageo India Pvt Ltd. She assumed the role of Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Director for the region in 2015, setting up these new functions as core and strategic to the business and a strong and integrated business partner to the rest of the company.
Prior to Diageo, Abanti served as a member of the Tata Administrative Service (TAS) cadre since 1992 in various General Management and Marketing roles, across Tata Global Beverages (India & UK), the Taj Group of Hotels (India & the US), Tata Housing and Tata Finance.