Mr. Ajay Swarup joined the family business in 1981 after having earned his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), which at the time dealt with sugar, edible oil, and alcohol.
Mr. Swarup founded Associated Distilleries Limited in 1983 and then subsequently went on to establish Globus Spirits Limited in 1993.
Under his leadership, Globus Spirits Limited has grown from a closely held company to eventually being listed publicly. Since the IPO listing, Globus Spirits Limited has witnessed steady, organic growth to emerge as a key national player in the spirits industry. “Directly or indirectly, we now provide employment to close to 2,000 people. We’ve seen the company transform from a promoter-managed organisation to one that’s now being managed by professionals,” he says.
He also founded Gras Academy in 2007 which works on the ground with underprivileged youth to provide vocational training and employment assistance. He served as the President of the AI Distillers Association, the apex body for the alcohol industry in India, from 1992 to 1995.
Mr. Swarup is a fitness enthusiast who spends a few hours each day practicing yoga and other fitness regimes. He enjoys reading and delves into business magazines and spiritual books in equal measure. Mr. Swarup continues to be actively involved in a leadership role at Globus Spirits, providing strategic support and guidance to the team.
Shekhar Swarup is the Joint MD of Globus Spirits Limited. After studying Marketing and Finance at the University of Bradford in the U.K., he made the conscious decision to join the family business and dive into steering the company’s growth. Shekhar believes that the time is ripe now for India to create beverages of serious quality inspired by the country’s unique cultural history and present.
After his daughter was born, Shekhar felt moved to work for cleaner air in Delhi. “It was very frustrating to [have] a child grow up to inherit this air,” he says. So, he helped establish the India Paryavaran Sahayak Foundation (IPSF), a non-profit organisation working towards cleaner air in the city. The IPSF works on the ground with farmers in North India to address the issue of stubble burning in paddy fields.
He’s a family oriented person and when he’s not working, you can find him traveling with his family, making coffee or learning more about alcohol and alcohol technology.
Mr. Manik Lal Dutta is the Executive Director of Globus Spirits Limited. He holds an M. Tech from Calcutta University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Calcutta Institute of Management.
He joined Globus Spirits Limited in August, 2006, and has over 36 years of experience in the alcohol industry in the areas of project execution, commissioning, plant optimization, plant operation, development of IMFL blends and brands, maintenance and production planning, and quality control at various stages of liquor manufacture.
Mr. Dutta started his career as Management Trainee in 1970 with Carew & Co., owned by the UB Group. He later joined Rampur Distillery as Distiller-cum-Blender and rejoined UB Group in 1982 by taking charge of Srirampur Distillery. He later moved to MCD Rosa and again joined UB Group at its Udaipur Distillery as Director-in-charge in 1990.
From 1998 onwards, Mr. Dutta was Divisional Vice President (Manufacturing-North) of UB Group with complete responsibility for production and management of distilleries in North India and Nepal.
At Globus Spirits, Mr. Dutta is the overall in-charge and responsible for production, planning, the Prestige Liquor blends, brand development, and more.
Dr. Bhaskar Roy calls himself a simple person who works to keep his team happy. A Chartered Accountant since 1987, he began his career at Asiatic Oxygen Limited. He is an accomplished professional who earned his PhD in Commerce from Rohilkhand University while he worked at Dhampur Sugar Mills. As the CFO of Globus Spirits, he successfully led the company’s IPO.
In his current role as Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, he also handles the Eastern units in West Bengal and Bihar, along with the value liquor sales in Haryana and West Bengal.
When he’s not working, Dr. Roy spends his time traveling, enjoying food, and listening to the sitar. Dr. Roy has been at Globus Spirits Limited since 2005.
Mr. Santosh Kumar Bishwal, aged 62 years, is a Non-Executive and Independent Director.
He is a B.Sc. (Mechanical Engg) from REC, Rourkela and M.Tech.(Industrial Engineering & Operations Research) from IIT, Kharagpur.
Mr. Bishwal started his career in August 1970 as Industrial Engineer with Union Carbide India Ltd in its Battery Products Division (Eveready). He later became Production Manager in its 3 different manufacturing units, and later became Chief Industrial Engineer where he was responsible for coordinating industrial engineering activities throughout the organization. He then moved to UB Group as General Manager (Manufacturing) and then became Vice President and later became Executive Vice President – Manufacturing overseeing all India manufacturing operations of this Division.
He retired in 2003 as Chief Operating Officer of the Eastern Region of UB Group’s Spirits Division. He was also a Director on the Board of Herbertsons Limited. In this capacity he was accountable for the entire business in Eastern India including the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal.
Mr. Bishwal has about 33 years of experience. Mr. Bishwal later moved on to consulting and was associated as Chief Operating Officer of Kalinga Hospital. Since 2003, he has been a faculty member of the Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Bhubaneshwar. He was appointed as an external examiner by IIT Kharagpur for a number of years for their M.Tech programme in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. He was also appointed as an examiner by AIMA for the project/thesis work which was apart of their PGDBM programme.
Mr. Agarwal is an Independent Director of the Company and is a member of its audit committee. Previously, Mr. Agarwal founded Priority Vendor Technologies Private Limited, a technology focused supply-chain finance business. Priority Vendor was subsequently acquired by Kansas City based C2FO. Mr. Agarwal currently serves as an advisor to C2FO's India business. Prior to this Mr. Agarwal co-founded Brattle Foods Private Limited, a leading cold-chain logistics business, which was subsequently acquired by Future Supply Chain Solutions Ltd.
Mr. Agarwal graduated from Harvard College in 2008 with a BA (Cum Laude) degree in Economics.
Amit Bhatiani is managing partner of Canopy Advisors LLP, an investment partnership. Prior to Canopy, Amit co-founded and was a partner at CX Partners, a private equity partnership. Prior to CX, Amit was a portfolio manager at Duma Capital, an investment partnership based in New York. Prior to Duma, Amit was a portfolio manager at the Clinton Group, an investment partnership in New York, where he co-managed the Clinton Event Driven Fund. Amit has an MBA (highest honors) from Columbia University and a BS from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Amit sits on several private company boards and has been an observer on the board of KPIT.
Ruchika Bansal is a management consultant with over 12 years of work experience, specializing in corporate finance and business strategy. Prior to founding Tarvos Consulting Services Pvt Ltd, a company engaged in finance and strategy consulting, she worked as an investment banker advising companies in the areas of mergers & acquisitions and private equity syndication. Ms Bansal is a commerce graduate from SRCC (Delhi University) and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from MDI, Gurgaon.
Ajay is presently a freelance Operations Consultant with over 40 years of experience in the Alcobev space in various roles, starting from factory management and production control to ultimately endto-end global supply solutions for Mainstream Spirits for Diageo Plc, the global leader in beverage alcohol.
Ajay was an Executive Director for Allied Blenders and Distillers Private Ltd., a manufacturer & marketer of spirits brands based in Mumbai, India, till Jan’20. Before this, he served as the Global Supply Director - Mainstream Spirits for Diageo, the global leader in beverage alcohol. He has in the past worked for United Spirits Limited (USL) and Shaw Wallace & Company Ltd., both in executive and senior management roles. Ajay has served as a Managing Director of a Brewery, been Director on the Board of Subsidiaries, served on the Executive Committee of United Spirits Ltd. - A Diageo Group Company and thereafter on the Global Supply Executive Committee of Diageo Plc.
His career journey has touched upon all facets of the Alcobev industry. A Chemical Engineer by qualification, Ajay has been involved with acquisitions, their integration & merger into mainline business, manufacturing footprint & cost optimization, stepping up safety standards & infrastructure to international standards. He has also done path-breaking work on water conservation and sustainability, considering that Alcobev is a large water-consuming industry in a water-stressed country. Ajay was overseeing USL’s supply function comprising of 95 manufacturing sites spread across the country and then spearheaded the transformation of USL's manufacturing operations, technical functions, safety & sustainability to align with Diageo Global Supply standards, improve performance parameters, efficiencies and profitability to make USL Manufacturing World Class.
In his role as the Global Supply Director - Mainstream Spirits for Diageo Plc, Ajay has covered African, South American, and the far eastern markets scouring for potential opportunities in the mainstream segments, and have been successful in drawing up the Mainstream Strategy and Growth Plans for Supply at Diageo Plc.
Ajay's areas of expertise lie in General Management, Supply, Procurement & Sourcing, Regulatory & Compliance, Innovation & Renovation, Operations Excellence, Technical, Projects & Acquisitions within the Indian and global space. Ajay’s long years of association with the Indian alcobev space lends to his extensive knowledge, interest & insights on trends, consumer behaviour, market dynamics & regulatory framework for market penetration & development.
Presently, Ajay also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Directors of EID Parry (India) Ltd. A publicly listed conglomerate primarily engaged in the manufacture of sugar, fertilizers, bioproducts, & nutraceuticals, with consolidated revenues of 237 Billion INR. The Company is a part of the INR 417 Billion Murugappa Group, one of India’s leading business conglomerates. Ajay also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Directors of Ramco Industries Ltd., a publicly listed company engaged in Dry Wall & Ceiling products & boards, Roofing products and Cotton Yarn. Ajay is a Non-Executive Professional Director on the Board of Next Century Spirits India Pvt.Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Next Century Spirits LLC, USA, a technology start-up in the Alcobev space.
