There is never a dull moment

For Meghna Agrawal, Vice President, Supply Finance, Diageo India, leading the execution of USL acquisition transaction where GBP 2 billion exchanged hands is the biggest achievement in her career till date.

Meghna has been a nomad since birth. By the time she completed school, she had been through 10 schools and five cities. She went to Singapore for her undergraduate studies under a full scholarship and later went to London to do MBA. Though she went on to stay in Singapore for eight years and London for five, her nomadic instincts took her to 30+ countries in Europe and Asia for travel and work. Her first job was with a Singapore company, where she learned the value of being proactive, ‘either taking on work, giving status updates, or even asking for help.

Meghna was interviewed for Diageo during her MBA. “I absolutely loved the people I met and the role was very-very exciting … so here I am,” she says. When her father came to know she had landed a job in Diageo, he teased her: “So, will you get me a Johnnie Walker next time?”

Leading a Team

She leads a team of 60 people and is in charge of all finance-related activities for the Indian supply chain of the company. She loves everything about Diageo. “Diageo has been a wonderful organisation to work for, and has given me opportunities in different areas within finance, across different geographies. There is never a dull moment, as here we are encouraged to expand our own scope of responsibilities and make each role as big as
we can,” she articulates. Sharing her empowering moments, Meghna says she was given the responsibility to execute the complex USL acquisition transaction with multiple tranches, each with a different mechanism. “I had no prior experience in the domain or geography, but my managers did take a bet on my capability,” Meghna reminisces. She attributes her growth to consistent hard work and focus on expanding her own horizons. Difficulty has never been a consideration for her for taking on more. What she likes most about being in this industry is the fact that “our products are at the heart of celebrations everyday, everywhere”. Her goal is to make an impact on everything she is involved in, and empowering people/ teams/processes in the process.