Her Mother Was Killed by a Drunk Driver. Now She's CEO of a Powerful Alcohol Company. Here's What Made Her 'Walk Into the Fire.' Pernod Ricard North America owns many of the world's most recognizable alcohol brands. Its CEO, Ann Mukherhee, lived through alcohol-related personal tragedies. In her opinion, that's why she's right for the job.
By Dan Bova Edited by Frances Dodds
This story appears in the October 2021 issue of BIZ Experiences. Subscribe »
A lot of people ask me, "Why would you be the CEO of an alcohol company?'" Ann Mukherjee says. It's a fair question. Mukherjee, 56, is the chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America, the wine and spirits powerhouse with brands that include Absolut, Jameson, and Avion. When she was 14, Mukherjee saw her mother killed by a drunk driver. She was also a victim of sexual abuse in which alcohol played a part. So why would Mukherjee want this job? "I know what that pain is like," she says. "I don't want others to go through it. If you really want a seat at the table to make change, you've got to walk into the fire."
Mukherjee is an Indian American woman in a white-male-dominated industry, and she credits Alexandre Ricard, chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, for bringing her in and embracing the kinds of changes she envisioned. It is not every day you see a CEO actively warning customers about potential abuse of their products, but that's exactly what Mukherjee did with the #SexResponsibly campaign, which directly addressed the issue of consent and the role that irresponsible drinking has in sexual assaults.
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"Like anything, it started with a business problem," Mukherjee says of the campaign. "Our iconic Absolut brand was having some business trouble and had kind of lost its way. It has always been a brand about provoking cultural issues—they were talking about gay rights before anyone else was — so we said, "OK, what's relevant today for Absolut to be talking about?' " After #MeToo, Mukherjee wasn't going to tiptoe around the elephant in the room. "A lot of people use alcohol as a weapon, and as an alcohol company, we felt it was important to say that that's not acceptable."
Mukherjee's point of view was informed by her personal experiences, and she says that's the kind of connection consumers and employees are looking for. They want to know what a brand stands for. "A paycheck is not enough for today's employees — you have to earn people's energy," she says. Mukherjee believes in the servant-leadership model, with CEOs at the bottom of the pyramid. "CEOs are here to serve," she says. "We're here to remove obstacles. We're here to help people realize their whole self and bring all that to work."
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For those just starting out in their careers, or looking to make a big change, Mukherjee advises they not be afraid of taking chances. "Most of my successes come from failures," she says. "So I always tell people, "Turn your breakdowns into breakthroughs.' " But first, she implores everyone to have an honest conversation with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses. And then, very importantly: Don't try to change them. "Weaknesses are the things that make your strengths your strengths! If a company doesn't understand its strategic advantage, how are they going to be differentiated and make a profit in the world? It's the same thing with people. Know that, embrace that, and love all of yourself."
