UKIBC appoints Jayant Krishna as group CEO

New Delhi

The UK India Business Council has appointed Jayant Krishna as its new Group Chief Executive Officer, effective from August 3, 2020.

He takes over from Richard Heald, OBE who held the position at the Council for a term of 10 years. Heald will step in to the role of Chair from September 1, 2020.

Jayant will be the first UKIBC Group CEO to be based in India. He brings a wealth of senior-level corporate and governmental experience from India and the UK to UKIBC, having previously led key initiatives of the Prime Minister's Skill India mission as CEO, and Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

Prior to this, Jayant was with the Tata group, for over two decades. A British Chevening Scholar, he held various leadership roles at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Over the past years, UKIBC has grown in size, scope, impact, and sustainability, expanding its presence in both the UK and India through the development of a range of advisory, support and consultancy services supporting both Indian and UK companies operating in the UK-India economic corridor.

At the same time, UKIBC's role of supporting the UK and the Indian Governments by providing the business voice in government-to-government deliberations remains core to its mission to further the UK-India relationship.

"The appointment of our Group CEO in India underscores our ambition to make the UKIBC more bilateral in nature. It is also, I believe, a sign of the growing maturity of UKIBC and can only help us enhance our existing advocacy, consultancy and support services in the UK and in India," Group CEO and Chair (Designate), Richard Heald, OBE said.

This transition is taking place at a stage when both countries' economies have grown to a comparable size in terms of nominal GDP, and we are at the threshold of a vibrant phase in our economic ties. UKIBC will continue to bolster two-way trade and investment flows between UK and Indian businesses, Jayant said.