Abanti Sankaranarayanan joins United Spirits' Executive Committee

Sankaranarayanan takes charge as Business Head for Luxury and Corporate Relations, United Spirits India. Prior to this, she has been Managing Director of Diageo India since July 2012

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | June 2, 2015

Abanti Sankaranarayanan

United Spirits (USL), a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, has roped in Abanti Sankaranarayanan as Business Head for Luxury and Corporate Relations, India. With this move, Sankaranarayanan joins the Executive Committee of USL. She has over 20 years of experience in the consumer industry and has been Managing Director of Diageo India since July 2012, leading Diageo's business mandate for international spirits in India.

A new Luxury unit is being set up in USL for the premium brands of the portfolio with the objective of maintaining Diageo's premium brand leadership. Creating a center of luxury excellence will provide focus behind the fastest growing segment of the Indian 'alcobev' market. The Luxury business will encompass Diageo's iconic brands such as Johnnie Walker, Ciroc and the single malts.

In addition, Sankaranarayanan will lead the new Corporate Relations function that has been set up to drive USL towards strong leadership and execution on Public Policy, Regulatory, Tax & Trade affairs, Alcohol Policy, Corporate Reputation & Brand, and Sustainability & Responsibility. In this role, she will build key stakeholder relationships with regulators, government, industry bodies, NGO partners and relevant members of civil society.

Commenting on her appointment, Anand Kripalu, MD & CEO, USL, said, “We are delighted to have a leader of Abanti's talent and global calibre to lead our Luxury portfolio and drive our Corporate Relations efforts in India. Her extensive leadership experience and expertise will add strong momentum to the growth of USL's business in India.”

Reacting to her appointment, Sankaranarayanan said, “I am delighted to take up this new position at USL as we continue the journey to make USL the most trusted and respected consumer goods company in India.”

Sankaranarayanan had joined Diageo in June 2010 and was responsible for the brand building of iconic global brands like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Vat 69 and Cîroc as the Marketing and Innovation Director, Diageo India.

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