United Breweries, India’s biggest brewer has appointed Anand Vijay Jha as Senior Vice President and Chief of Corporate Affairs. In his role, Jha will lead public policy, government relations, corporate communications, philanthropy, CSR, and the company’s ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives.
Prior to joining United Breweries, Jha, who is a former civil servant, served Walmart India as Senior Vice President and Chief of Corporate Affairs. Jha, who is an MBA in strategy from Faculty of Management Studies, (University of Delhi), an L.L.B. from Campus Law Centre (University of Delhi), and an L.L.M. in international trade and commercial laws from Durham University (UK), has over two decades of experience with central ministries, departments, and regulatory bodies, including the Competition Commission of India.
During his stint with government, Jha also helped set up and operationalise Rail Land Development Authority, a statutory body that raises revenue through non-tariff measures such as commercial leasing of government land.
Jha, who is also presently a member of Oxford University’s Corporate Affairs Academy, is a visiting faculty in law and business schools and public administration institutions in the country.
The latest appointment comes in the wake of senior leadership changes at UB with Rishi Pardal taking over managing director in August last year.
Meanwhile, in the third quarter ended-December, the Heineken-owned United Breweries reported a net profit increase of 18% to Rs. 126.37 crore from Rs. 106.37 crore a year earlier and a 5.73% decline in net sales at Rs. 3,069.15 crore against Rs. 3,255.97 crore a year earlier.
