Asia-Pacific Power List 2024: Ruchira Jaitly, Diageo

Ruchira Jaitly 

Chief marketing officer
Diageo India
India
New member 

Ruchira Jaitly, chief marketing officer, Diageo India, may have earned her ‘open water diver’ certification only recently, but she has been “planning the dive - and diving the plan” in every role she has held in her 28-year old career in marketing.

Jaitly, who labels herself as a marketer obsessed with making brands ‘the beating heart of business’, has been leading the India brand portfolio at Diageo for a year now, with oversight of 50 plus brands that include iconic ones like Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and some home-grown heroes such as McDowell’s No. 1, Signature and Royal Challenge.

Known as a strategic thinker and leader, Jaitly was hired at a time when post-pandemic consumption behaviours were rapidly shifting and the UK-based liquor major had upped its innovation, premiumisation and sustainability game.

Her tenure as CMO has been marked by a near-constant flow of marketing that has kept the brand culturally resonant and relevant, while specifically driving business renovations on Royal Challenge and Signature - delivering market share wins in the most competitive segment in India. 

Beyond this, Jaitly has led Diageo’s global agenda of progressive and inclusive marketing in India with brand purpose platforms such as Walker & Co, Signature Mangrove Restoration, Royal Challenge Choose Bold and House of McDowell’s.

Of all campaigns that she helped to deliver last year, the collaboration of Johnnie Walker with the Aravani Project (in October 2023) – elevating the transgender voice in social spaces through art, holds dear to her. As does “McDowell’s yaaron wall baat” , that brought inclusivity mainstream, with the current Bollywood Gen Z heartthrob Karthik Aryan  re-enacting an iconic scenes from his movies in sign language, to ensure that his friend, who hearing impaired, feels special and included in the celebration.

Last year Diageo partnered with the Advertising Standards Council of India to build a playbook on progressive marketing and advertising, particularly DEI.

Jaitly is deeply vested in reshaping such marketing playbooks to reflect true brand purpose, leveraging the transformative role of technology in brand building and consumer experiences. She is equally passionate about investing in talent, and she is a co-founder at Ashoka University, a liberal arts and science university. She has been a part of forums like CII National Committee on Women Empowerment & Indian Women Network (IWN), and The CII National Committee on Marketing Leadership, where she leveraged her own experiences to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and marketers.