Vinita Bali is a business leader with extensive experience in leading large Companies both in India and overseas. She has worked with eminent multinationals like The Coca-Cola Company and Cadbury Schweppes PLC in a variety of Marketing, General Management and Chief Executive Officer roles in the UK, Nigeria, South Africa, Latin America and the USA, in addition to Britannia Industries Ltd., in India. She brings a global and pragmatic perspective to strategy, marketing, innovation and operations, having worked across countries and continents, with responsibility for global and regional roles.
Effective April 2014, Vinita moved from a full-time role as MD & CEO of Britannia to pursue her wide-ranging interests in the corporate and development sectors. Presently she is a Non - Executive Director on the Global Boards of Cognizant Technology Solutions, SATS Limited and on the Board of Trustees of the Shell Foundation, UK. She also served on the Global Boards of Syngenta International AG from April 2012 to June 2017, Smith & Nephew plc from December 2014 till December 2020, Bunge Limited from Jan 2018 till May 2021 and GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition), a Swiss Foundation, based in Geneva, from July 2010 to December 2018 and was the Chairperson from January 2015 to December 2018.
In India, Vinita currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Syngene International Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd and is the Chairperson of the Cognizant Foundation. She was also on the Board of Titan Company Ltd from October 2006 till March 2018, CRISIL Ltd (an S&P Company) from February 2014 till February 2024, Member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore from November 2014 till December 2022 and Chairperson of the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) National Committee on Nutrition from May 2017 till June 2024.
Vinita was among 27 global leaders appointed by the UN in 2012 to help improve maternal and child health as part of its SUN (Scaling up Nutrition) initiative and completed her term in 2016. She has been recognized in forums nationally and internationally and has won several awards for her various contributions to business and society.
Vinita has an under-graduate degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and a Masters in Management from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, University of Bombay. She also pursued post graduate studies in International Business from Michigan State University, USA.