Shonali Chakravarty joins HEINEKEN's United Breweries in expanded communications, sustainability & CSR role

In a move that reflects the expanding strategic role of communications within businesses, Shonali Chakravarty has joined United Breweries Limited (UBL), a HEINEKEN Company, to lead communications, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the business in India. Her new role at UBL brings CSR together under a single leadership mandate, extending her remit beyond communications into areas increasingly central to business strategy.

UBL is part of HEINEKEN, one of the world's largest brewing companies, with a market valuation of over €40 billion and operations across more than 70 countries. UBL, a listed company on Indian stock exchanges with a market capitalisation of over ₹35,000 crore, owns some of India's most iconic beer brands, including Kingfisher, Kingfisher Ultra, Heineken, Heineken Silver and Amstel Grande.

The appointment follows Shonali's six-year stint at Lenovo, where she most recently led enterprise communications across Asia Pacific. Prior to Lenovo, she held senior communications roles at Uber and OYO, where public policy, regulatory engagement, and corporate reputation were closely intertwined with business strategy.

 As India's largest beer company, UBL has a presence across 13 states, with 19 owned and 17 contract breweries, giving its sustainability and CSR agenda an extensive operational and social footprint across 20+ project. The company has an overall manufacturing capacity of approximately 24 million hectolitres and a value chain that, according to a recently released socio-economic impact study by Steward Redqueen, contributes nearly ₹43,000 crore to the Indian economy and supports around 2.95 lakh jobs and livelihoods across agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, retail, hospitality and tourism.