Abanti joined the Mahindra Group in July 2022 and leads the Public Policy & Regulation and Sustainability functions for the Group. She serves as a Director on the Boards of Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited, Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited, Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd., Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., and CIE Automotive, Spain. She is also a Member of the Executive Council of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Co-Chair of the FICCI Committee on Environment & Climate Change for 2024.

Prior to joining Mahindra, Abanti was the Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer and a member of the Executive Committee at Diageo India. As Head of Strategy, she led the strategy development and execution for Diageo’s business in India. Prior to this, Abanti was the Managing Director of Diageo India Pvt Ltd, leading Diageo’s business mandate for international spirits in India.

Abanti joined Diageo in June 2010 as the Marketing and Innovation Director, responsible for building Diageo’s iconic global brands like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, VAT 69, and Cîroc.

Prior to Diageo, Abanti served as a member of the Tata Administrative Service (TAS) cadre since 1992, in an illustrious career where she held key roles managing some of the best-known consumer brands of the Tata Group in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In her 17-year career with the Tata Group, Abanti worked across various companies such as Tata Global Beverages in London, the Taj Group of Hotels in Mumbai and New York, and Tata Housing & Tata Finance in Mumbai.

Abanti’s contributions to business have been recognized by Fortune India (The Most Powerful Women in Business: 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016), IMPACT (50 Most Influential Women in Media, Marketing, and Advertising: 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017), India Today (India’s 25 Most Influential Women, 2013), and Fast Company, New York (100 Most Creative People in Business, 2012).

Abanti is an Economics graduate from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, and holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.