Who is Mamata Banerjee? - Strategy & Innovation Leader, Career Coach, DEI Change Maker

Mamata Banerjee was born and raised in Hyderabad, India. She completed her schooling from prestigious institutions like DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Carmel School, and Sacred Heart School. Mamata went on to earn a Bachelor of Technology degree in Apparel Manufacturing and Information Technology from the renowned National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Mumbai, where she was awarded a gold medal for her academic excellence. She further honed her business acumen by pursuing an MBA with a dual major in Marketing and Strategy from the esteemed Indian School of Business (ISB).

Professional Journey

Mamata started her career as a Trainee at Madura Garments, an Aditya Birla Group company. Her graduation project on product innovation and operational improvements for their brand Peter England Menswear was recognized as the "Best Commercial Viability Project", resulting in potential annual savings of INR 5.6 million for the company.

She then worked in Sourcing and Merchandising roles at Asmara Group and Lacoste, handling clients from the US and EU markets and vendors from the APAC region. In 2014, Mamata joined Cognizant Business Consulting as a Consultant focusing on IT supply chain and customer excellence for retail and CPG clients in the US.

Mamata's stint at Deloitte India as a Strategy & Operations Consultant from 2015 to 2018 saw her working on strategic sourcing, demand-supply planning, process and technology transformation projects for clients across the US, China, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Norway. Her industry exposure spanned retail, food & beverages, CPG, and manufacturing.

In 2018, Mamata moved to Novartis as Manager of Global Indirects Procurement, handling global strategy, performance management, sourcing policies, systems and automation. She also took on the additional role of Global Program Management Officer for Commercial Procurement on an interim basis.

Since 2020, Mamata has been leading strategic design, planning, automation and transformation initiatives for Novartis Technical Operations' supply chain and manufacturing platforms in her capacity as Operations Strategy and Innovation Lead.

Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy

Passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion, Mamata has been actively driving DEI initiatives both within Novartis and externally. She chairs the D&I Council at Novartis Hyderabad and represents India in the Novartis Global LGBTQIA+ Leadership team. Some of her key contributions include conceptualizing and implementing all-gender washrooms, strategizing affirmative hiring for the LGBT+ community, and liaising for inclusive policy changes.

Mamata also serves as the Industry Council Chair for the Wellbeing sector in the India Diversity Forum and mentors underprivileged children through the NGO CRY (Child Rights and You).

Other Pursuits

Alongside her corporate career, Mamata has been working as an independent career coach and counselor since 2016, guiding students on standardized test preparation, profile development, essay reviews and interviews for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions.

She is also an advisory board member for the Student Engagement and Applied Learning (SEAL) program at ISB and a visiting faculty for their Strategic Procurement elective.

A self-taught painter and poet, Mamata has authored an article on "Sustainable Supply Chain" for NITIE's OPUS magazine. She frequently speaks on topics related to leadership, innovation, strategy, mentoring, coaching and DEI at various forums.