WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S. – Vinita Bali, former chief executive officer of Britannia Industries, has been named to the board of directors of Bunge Ltd.

Bali was CEO of Britannia Industries, a publicly listed food company in India, from 2005-14. Prior to that, she was head of the business strategy practice in the United States at the Zyman Group, a consulting firm. She started her career in India at a Tata Group company in 1977, and joined Cadbury India in 1980, subsequently working for Cadbury in the United Kingdom, Nigeria and South Africa until 1994. From 1994 to 2003, she held senior positions in marketing and general management at The Coca-Cola Co. in the United States and Latin America, becoming global head of corporate strategy in 2001.

Currently, Bali serves as an advisory board member of PwC India, and is a non-executive director on the boards of Smith & Nephew plc, as well as several Indian companies, including CRISIL Ltd., Titan Industries Ltd. and Syngene International Limited. She is a former non-executive director of Syngenta International AG. She also chairs the board of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

“Vinita is an accomplished former CEO in the food and ingredients industry who brings directly relevant experience to our board of directors,” said L. Patrick Lupo, chairman of Bunge. “We will greatly benefit from her depth of industry knowledge and emerging markets experience as we continue to grow our food and ingredients business.”

Bali received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Delhi and a master’s degree in business administration from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies at the University of Mumbai.

This is the most recent leadership change for Bunge. In November 2017, the company said it was simplifying its structure from five operating regions to three regions, a move designed to streamline its operating model, further leverage its global scale and increase its focus on customers and growth. The restructuring is part of the company’s $250 million global Competitiveness Program unveiled in mid-July.

Under the new structure Bunge said it will operate as three regions: North America, South America and Europe/Asia. Previously, the company operated as five operating regions: Bunge North America, Bunge Brazil, Bunge Southern Cone, Bunge EMEA and Bunge Asia.

Three leaders have been chosen for the regions:

• Todd Bastean, president of North America

• Pierre Mauger, president of Europe/Asia

• Raul Padilla, president of South America and Sugar & Bioenergy