In December 2020, Hina Nagarajan who was announced to head United Spirits, part of Diageo from July 1, 2021, has taken charge yesterday as MD & CEO Diageo India, Member Diageo Global Executive Committee.
As MD & CEO Diageo India, Hina reports to John Kennedy, the President of Diageo Europe and India. She replaces Anand Kripalu who steped down on June 30 to pursue the next phase of his career.
Most recently, Hina was leading Diageo’s ARM comprising operations in Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, the Indian Ocean, Angola, and several other countries. Before joining Diageo, she was MD China & SVP North Asia with RB (Reckitt Benckiser).
Commenting on her joining Hina said, “I feel privileged to begin my journey as MD & CEO of Diageo India. Over the last few months, I have received a very warm welcome from all our people, our Board, various stakeholders, and partners. In my conversations and interactions with them, I have reaffirmed the belief that Diageo India has some incredible and unique strengths – iconic brands, strong corporate reputation, industry-leading talent, and most importantly; the energy, commitment, and ‘can-do’ attitude of our people.”
“We have managed to emerge stronger from a rather difficult last year. And the credit goes to the collective resilience and strength of character of our team. We are entering the new year with strong momentum on both ‘Market Share’ and ‘Look Back Reputation’.” said Hina
Talking on the future opportunites she explained, “There are many strong macro trends favorable to our industry such as resurgent GDP growth, urbanization, changing consumer attitudes towards the category, and much more. There is also an accelerated pace of premiumization with consumers actively seeking new experiences,”
“Riding on these opportunities, we are uniquely placed in Diageo India to pursue disruptive opportunities, that can help us accelerate growth for our business and the industry.” said Hina
She said, “I look forward to leading Diageo India with purpose, inclusiveness, bold ambition and the firm belief that our best years are ahead of us! I know that with the fantastic team I have – Together We Can Do It!”
Hina has over 30 years of experience and held several senior marketing and general management positions in Nestlé India and Mary Kay India.
