Hina Nagarajan

Managing Director and CEO

Hina Nagarajan

Hina Nagarajan became the Managing Director and CEO of Diageo India effective July, 2021. Earlier, she was Managing Director, Diageo - Africa Emerging Markets (AEM) since August 2018 leading business operations across Ghana, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Indian Ocean, Angola and other WACA countries.

Her key responsibilities included P&L delivery, investment, category and whitespace entry strategies, corporate governance and compliance across all the business units in her region. Under her leadership, AEM transformed to become a significant growth driver for Africa whilst doubling operating margins.

She oversaw the reframing of Partner & Emerging Markets (PEM) to become a significant strategic growth engine and driver of market entry strategy, all while leading a significant step change in Supply Chain performance across the AEM market. Hina, together with the team, led the transformation of the Africa Emerging market – putting in place an ambitious ‘bigger, bolder, better’ strategy which sought to transform the growth trajectory and profitability of the market, while enhancing Diageo’s reputation across these countries. She is known for her passion and drive to deliver results with an ability to build strong teams that deliver outstanding outcomes, with a strong commitment to Diageo standards and commitment to compliance. She has also been an active and passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity in Africa and Diageo more broadly.

Prior to joining Diageo, Hina spent over 30 years in the FMCG industry and held several leadership positions at Reckitt, Mary Kay India and Nestlé India during her career. Her most recent position before joining Diageo was as Sr. Vice President, Regional Director of Reckitt, North Asia since mid-2015, leading the business operations across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Under her leadership, the region was consistently a top growth and profit contributor to Reckitt, as well as the fastest growing business amongst the top 50 Consumer companies in China. She also sat on the board of Reckitt’s holding companies in China and Hong Kong as well as the Reckitt Joint Venture with a local partner in China.

Hina is an accomplished senior leader with a proven track record in business transformation and development in complex emerging markets. She has a unique and versatile experience of building high quality and growth businesses in the diverse power markets of India, China, SE Asia and Africa across several sectors (food & beverage, health & hygiene, nutrition, beauty, home décor).

As a top woman leader, she is a strong advocate of creating opportunities for women and contributes extensively to Inclusion & Diversity Programs. Her recognitions in this area include:

  • EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Role Model Lists (2020, 2019)
  • WeQual I&D Award Winner (2019)
  • Cranfield University Top 50 Women to Watch (2019)

Hina is a member of the Board of Governors of the Advertising Standards Council of India and has served on the National Board of AMCHAM in India.

She has earned a Bachelor’s degree from Delhi University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.