Jury Chair

Varun Berry is an FMCG industry captain, with over three decades of experience in the Food and Beverages sector in India and across the globe. As the Executive Vice Chairman, Managing Director of Britannia and Chief Operating Officer, he has lead the scaling up of the organization by a significant measure, with a sharp focus on delivering shareholder value.

Varun has led the transformation of Britannia from a Biscuits major into a Global Total Foods Company that continues to gain significant foothold across categories like cakes, croissants, salted snacks and others. Under his stewardship, the Company has also stepped up its play in Dairy, by setting up infrastructure for backward integration and an upcoming own manufacturing facility. His incisive style of management with a focus on consistent execution and team play, enabled the organization stay resilient through the unprecedented disruption caused by the pandemic.

Over the last 10 years, Varun has steered the company through significant milestones. Under his watch, the Company has built technologically superior factories, streamlined its product portfolio, accelerated cost efficiency programs, adopted long-term sustainability strategies, and strengthened operations in international markets. He has managed to clock the highest ever annual revenue at Rs, 14,000 Crores (F22-23) and the listed company has reached the prestigious 1 Lakh Crore Market Capitalisation figure recently as well.

Under his leadership, the Company took significant strides in bridging the portfolio gaps in bakery and the adjacent macro-snacking businesses. Varun’s key leadership traits called out by his team are pragmatism, a highly infectious competitive streak, a can-do attitude and superlative people skills.

As an acknowledgment of his many feats in the FMCG sector, Varun has received a range of accoladesBest CEO- Private Sector at the Forbes India Leadership Awards 2017, Business World- India’s Most Valuable CEOs 2017, Best CEO- FMCG at the Business Today Mind Rush Awards 2019, and The Outstanding CEO of 2019 by the CEO Lounge to name a few.

Before this, Varun was with prominent organizations like Unilever and PepsiCo, where he held key leadership positions in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He also has a successful track record in leading start-ups, turnarounds, joint ventures, and growth businesses.

Varun holds a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Punjab University and has also attended the Strategic Management Program at Wharton University and Global Leadership Program at IMD, Switzerland.

Varun enjoys a good game of golf, as he believes it helps him centre back on priorities. ‘The Doors’ and ‘The Who’ are Varun’s favourite rock bands. He enjoys traveling, New York and London being the top favourites get away destinations. His taste buds have a special preference for spicy Thai cuisine. Varun is also a thorough movie buff, and makes it a point to stay on top of the latest releases at the box office! He can be reached on LinkedIn and Twitter