Mr Amitabh Kant served as India's Sherpa to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Presidency, championing global issues, growth, as well as geopolitical and technological issues. Mr Kant has led the national effort to accelerate India's transition to cleaner energy, spearheading initiatives such as the Green Hydrogen Mission and the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, and pushing ambitious climate finance reform through the Green Development Pact in the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration. He was the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) (2016-2022), as well as the former Secretary of the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (2014-2016), Government of India. He is a member of the Indian Administrative Service, IAS (Kerala Cadre: 1980 Batch).

Mr Kant is the author of “Branding India – An Incredible Story,” and has been a key driver of the “Make in India,” Startup India, “Incredible India,” and “God’s Own Country” initiatives, which positioned and branded India and the state of Kerala as leading manufacturing and tourism destinations. These campaigns have won several international awards and embraced a host of activities – infrastructure development, product enhancement, private-public partnership, and brand building. Mr Kant also conceptualised and executed the “Atithi Devo Bhavah” – “Guest is God” campaign to train taxi drivers, guides, immigration officials and make them stakeholders in the tourism development process. As National Project Director of the Rural Tourism Project of UNDP, he oversaw a paradigm shift in spreading tourism to Indian villages that have core competencies in handicrafts, handloom, and culture.

He was also the Chairman and CEO of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) and Chairman of the National Productivity Council.