Mr. Muktesh Pant

(BT/CHE/1976)

Mr. Muktesh Pant currently serves as a Senior Advisor at Beyond Meat. He is also the former CEO of Yum! Restaurants China. Besides his analytical incisiveness, Mr. Pant's success in managing companies is known to be steeped in his social awareness, human understanding and human relationships. His commitment to integrity and honesty is of utmost order and his unique style of functioning has been described in today's business world as hands-on without interfering.


Profile

Born in 1954 in Nainital, Uttarakhand, he did his schooling at Saint Joseph's School Nainital. His mother, Shivani, is a famous Hindi novelist. Mr. Pant's childhood ambition was to be a chemistry teacher. In 1976, he obtained his chemical engineering degree from IIT Kanpur. From 1976 to 1992, he worked in various executive capacities at Unilever in India and the United Kingdom and built a strong foundation in marketing and international business. From 1992 to 1994, he worked at PepsiCo in PepsiCo s India startup. In 1995, he joined Reebok and helped Reebok to set up its operations in India for the first time. Mr. Pant worked in various capacities at Reebok, including as Chief Marketing Officer from 2001 to 2004. He served Reebok International at Boston, Massachusetts, USA as the Senior Vice President of its global marketing division.



During the time Mr. Pant worked for Reebok, he also served as a director on the board of the American college of sports medicine. He was instrumental in establishing Reebok in the emerging markets in Asia. During his tenure as the global CMO, Reebok was the winner of two golden lion awards at the Cannes film festival, considered by many to be the highest awards in advertising. In 2003, he was recognized as the interactive marketer of the year by AdWeek magazine.



Mr. Pant became the CEO of Yum! Restaurants China on 18th August 2015. He is a long-time Yum! veteran. He brought his vast knowledge of best practices from around the globe and strategic, brand-building expertise to Yum! Restaurants China. Yum! is the leading retail developer in China with more than 7,100 restaurants in over 1,100 cities. During Pant's tenure, Yum! targeted non-US markets heavily in response to the increased consumer spending on food in the developing world.

Achievements and Honors

  • Recipient of Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2010 by IIT Kanpur.
  • Interactive marketer of the year by AdWeek magazine, 2003.
  • Member of the Indian Trade Policy, Government of India.
  • One of the faces of the Millennium declared by India Today, 1999.