Vinita Bali, Independent Director & Strategy Adviser

Vinita Bali is a global business leader with extensive experience in successfully 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 CEO 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. Vinita started her career as a Management Trainee with Voltas Ltd (A Tata Group Company), in 1977 after completing her MBA. In 1980, she joined Cadbury India as Brand Manager and rose rapidly to become the youngest General Manager of the Company. She also worked with Cadbury’s in the UK, Nigeria and South Africa and served on the Boards of Cadbury Nigeria and Cadbury South Africa as Sales and Marketing Director. She is credited with leading the transformation of the business through an unrelenting focus on the consumer. She headed the Sales & Marketing function in South Africa in 1993-94 during the period of the most profound transition in the country. In 1994 Vinita joined The Coca-Cola Company as its Worldwide Marketing Director for Coca- Cola and played an instrumental role in doubling the brand’s historical growth rate during the next 3 years. In 1997, she took over as Vice-President of Marketing for Latin America and in 1999 relocated to Chile as President of the Andean Division. In 2001, she was made a Corporate Officer of The Coca-Cola Company and appointed Vice-President and Head of Global Business Strategy. She also represented The Coca-Cola Company on the Boards of The American Foundation for the Blind, New York, as well as the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.