Purnima Lamba has taken charge as Chief Brand Officer at Mahindra Group, effective September 1, 2026, after nearly 25 years at Unilever. She will oversee the group’s corporate brand and communications strategy across its diverse businesses and digital platforms.
Purnima Lamba Joins Mahindra Group After 25 Years
Purnima Lamba has officially taken over as Chief Brand Officer at Mahindra Group, marking a significant senior-level move in India’s corporate branding and communications sector. The appointment became effective on September 1, 2026, after Mahindra Group first announced it in May.
Lamba joins Mahindra after nearly 25 years at Unilever, where she built a long career across India, the UK and the Netherlands. Her experience spans brand building, marketing, digital innovation, consumer insight and communications.
At Mahindra Group, she will be responsible for shaping and stewarding the group’s corporate brand and communications strategy. Her mandate includes developing the organisation’s broader brand narrative and maintaining consistency across its different businesses and platforms.
The appointment comes as Mahindra Group continues to operate across a wide range of sectors, including automotive, farm equipment, financial services, technology services, hospitality, logistics, real estate and renewable energy. That diversity makes corporate brand management a particularly broad responsibility.
Her Unilever Career Spanned India, UK and Netherlands
Lamba’s professional background is one of the key reasons the appointment has attracted attention within the marketing and communications industry.
She spent around 25 years with Unilever, holding senior leadership positions across three markets: India, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. During that period, she worked with several major beauty and personal care brands, including Lakmé, Sunsilk, TRESemmé and Vaseline. Her most recent position at Unilever was Global Brand Vice President for Knorr.
Her career reflects a progression from consumer-facing brand management into broader global leadership responsibilities.
According to Mahindra Group’s announcement, Lamba’s experience includes developing technology-enabled beauty experiences and digital media models. These areas have become increasingly important as consumer engagement has moved from traditional advertising toward digital platforms, social media, creator-led communication and technology-enabled experiences.
Her experience across different markets also gives her exposure to both local consumer behaviour and global brand-building practices.
What Will Purnima Lamba Do at Mahindra?
As Chief Brand Officer, Lamba will lead Mahindra Group’s corporate brand and communications strategy.
Her responsibilities include developing a coherent brand narrative aligned with Mahindra’s values, vision and business ambitions. She will also oversee brand consistency across the group’s various businesses and platforms.
This is an important distinction because Mahindra Group is not a single-category company. Its businesses operate across sectors with very different customers and competitive environments.
A corporate brand strategy therefore has to create a common identity while allowing individual businesses to communicate with their own audiences.
For example, the communication approach used by an automotive business can be very different from one used by a financial services company or a technology services business. The role of a group-level brand leader is to establish the broader narrative and principles that connect these businesses without making their communication identical.
Lamba’s mandate also covers both traditional and digital ecosystems, indicating that the role extends beyond conventional advertising and corporate communications.
Mahindra Wants Greater Brand Consistency
Mahindra’s appointment of a dedicated Chief Brand Officer also highlights the growing importance of consistency in corporate branding.
Large business groups often have multiple companies, products, campaigns and communication channels operating simultaneously. Without a common framework, audiences can receive very different impressions of the parent organisation.
Mahindra Group said Lamba will oversee brand consistency across its diverse businesses and strengthen brand salience across traditional and digital platforms.
The challenge is particularly relevant for a group whose presence extends well beyond automobiles.
Mahindra’s businesses include mobility, agriculture, financial services, technology, hospitality, logistics, real estate and clean-energy-related activities. Each sector has its own competitive landscape and customer expectations.
A group-level brand strategy can help connect these businesses around common values while making the larger Mahindra identity easier for consumers, employees, investors and other stakeholders to understand.
Anish Shah Welcomes Lamba to Leadership Role
Mahindra Group CEO and Managing Director Anish Shah welcomed Lamba’s appointment and highlighted her global experience, strategic thinking, creativity and consumer understanding.
Shah said her experience would help the group strengthen the Mahindra brand as it develops its corporate narrative around its values, vision and business ambitions.
The appointment has also received attention from Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra.
In a message welcoming Lamba, Anand Mahindra highlighted how brand stewardship has changed with the rise of new-age media. He argued that modern brand management increasingly involves dialogue and engagement rather than simply controlling a company’s message.
That observation reflects a broader change in corporate communications. Companies today have to respond to conversations taking place across social platforms, news outlets, online communities and creator ecosystems, often in real time.
Why Her Digital Experience Matters
Lamba’s experience in digital media and technology-enabled brand experiences is particularly relevant to the role.
Corporate branding has moved well beyond television advertisements, print campaigns and traditional public relations. Digital platforms have made corporate reputation an ongoing process involving social media, online video, influencers, employees, customers and other stakeholders.
For a diversified group such as Mahindra, this creates both opportunities and challenges.
The company has to communicate with different audiences while maintaining a recognisable corporate identity. Its communication around mobility, agriculture, technology or financial services may require very different formats, but the broader Mahindra narrative needs to remain coherent.
Lamba’s background across global brand roles gives her experience of managing this balance between local relevance and a consistent overarching identity. Mahindra’s announcement specifically pointed to her work in digital media models and technology-enabled consumer experiences.
A Leadership Move at a Changing Time for Brands
Lamba’s appointment comes at a time when corporate marketing is changing rapidly.
Brands are increasingly expected to demonstrate what they stand for rather than simply promote products. Consumers can also scrutinise companies more closely because information, commentary and criticism can spread quickly online.
This makes the corporate brand increasingly relevant to areas beyond marketing. Employer reputation, investor perception, customer trust and public communication can all influence how a diversified business is viewed.
For Mahindra Group, the task is complicated by its size and sectoral spread.
Lamba’s role will therefore involve more than developing campaigns. The larger responsibility is to create a consistent corporate narrative that can work across multiple businesses while remaining relevant to different audiences.
Her appointment also brings experience from one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies into a diversified Indian business group.
Purnima Lamba’s Education and Professional Background
Lamba holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science, according to Mahindra Group’s announcement.
Her career at Unilever gave her experience across international markets and major consumer brands before she moved into the group-level role at Mahindra.
The combination of management education, international exposure and long-term experience in consumer brand building forms the foundation of her new mandate.
However, the scale of the Mahindra Group presents a different challenge from managing individual consumer brands. Instead of focusing primarily on one product category, Lamba will have to work across businesses that operate in sectors ranging from automobiles and agriculture to technology, finance and hospitality.
That makes the role significant from both a communications and organisational perspective.
What Lamba’s Appointment Could Mean for Mahindra’s Brand
The immediate responsibility for Lamba is clear: strengthen Mahindra Group’s corporate brand, establish a compelling narrative and maintain consistency across its businesses and communication platforms.
The longer-term impact will depend on how that strategy is implemented.
Mahindra is already a widely recognised Indian corporate group, but its diverse business portfolio means that maintaining a unified identity requires careful communication. The group’s international operations also mean that its corporate narrative has to work beyond the Indian market.
Lamba’s experience across India, the UK and the Netherlands could be relevant in that context. Her previous work across global consumer brands also gives her familiarity with markets where brand perception is closely connected with consumer behaviour and digital engagement.
For India’s marketing and communications industry, the appointment is also notable because it brings a senior consumer-brand executive into a diversified corporate group at a time when brand leadership is becoming increasingly strategic.
Key Takeaways
- Purnima Lamba took charge as Chief Brand Officer at Mahindra Group on September 1, 2026.
- She joins Mahindra after nearly 25 years at Unilever, where she held senior roles across India, the UK and the Netherlands.
- Her Mahindra mandate covers corporate brand strategy, communications, brand consistency and digital as well as traditional platforms.
- Her experience includes major consumer brands, digital media models and technology-enabled brand experiences, areas that are increasingly important to corporate communications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Purnima Lamba?
Purnima Lamba is a senior brand and marketing professional who spent around 25 years at Unilever across India, the UK and the Netherlands. She has worked across major consumer brands and held global brand leadership responsibilities.
What is Purnima Lamba’s new role at Mahindra Group?
She is the Chief Brand Officer of Mahindra Group. She is responsible for shaping the group’s corporate brand and communications strategy, developing its brand narrative and maintaining consistency across its diverse businesses and platforms.
When did Purnima Lamba join Mahindra Group?
Lamba’s appointment as Chief Brand Officer became effective on September 1, 2026. Mahindra Group had announced the appointment in May 2026.
What was Purnima Lamba’s last role at Unilever?
Her most recent role at Unilever was Global Brand Vice President for Knorr. Before that, she worked across several prominent beauty and personal care brands, including Lakmé, Sunsilk, TRESemmé and Vaseline.
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