This story is part of the “Behind the Desk” series, where CNBC Make It gets personal with successful business leaders to find out everything from how they got to where they are to what gets them out of bed in the morning to their daily lives them
Ann Mukherjee thinks about a simple question every day: If you had the chance to change the world, what would you do?
Mukherjee, 56, is the North American chief executive and chairman of Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller – which means she is responsible for well-known premium spirits brands such as Absolut, Jameson and Malibu. And she knows firsthand how alcohol can change someone’s life, because it almost ruined hers—twice.
She says her earliest memory as a child is of an assault she suffered at the hands of two drunk teenagers. And when she was 14, her mother was killed by a drunk driver. Her work today, she says, helps turn her pain into “positive, meaningful change.”
“We should never just accept that bad things happen,” Mukherjee told CNBC Make It. “As a leader, I feel a strong sense of standing up for those who have gone through similar experiences as I have and doing everything I can to make sure others never have to.”
Mukherjee’s first act as CEO in 2019, for example: launching an Absolut Vodka ad campaign about sexual consent. Under its witty slogan “Drink Responsibly,” the ads promoted a new hashtag: “#SexResponsibly.”
“Our products are meant to unlock magic, not to be used for harm,” says Mukherjee, who is on the national board of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). “If you plan to use these products as a weapon, don’t buy them.
Here, Mukherjee talks about how trauma affected her ability to lead, the person who changed the trajectory of her career, and the lesson she learned as a female CEO in a male-dominated industry:
On the moment that made Mukherjee a leader: ‘I couldn’t deal with her senseless death’
I was five years old when my parents immigrated from Kolkata, India to Chicago. I was an only child and my mother was my best friend. My father was always more aloof, so she instilled in me the importance of being independent and how to deal with life’s difficulties.
When she died, I went from a smart kid to a capable adult in minutes. After the doctor pronounced her dead, I saw her body. I hugged her. Then I sat very still in the corridor of the hospital and immediately began to think about how I would organize the funeral and prepare her body for burial.
I couldn’t deal with her senseless death. I had to make sense of it and keep moving. My life has always been this way: when a tragedy or a challenge hits me, I immediately think, “What am I going to do about it?”
Life is not what happens to you. It’s about how you react when the going gets tough. I learned this lesson very early.
On how falling in love pushed her to take a leap of faith: ‘I walked into the fire’
[My husband] Deepu and I met in an online chat in 1995. The winners for [1994] Miss Universe and Miss World were from India, they had been announced only months earlier and he said, “Shouldn’t we be proud?”
I called him a fool. I said: “We should be proud because there are two beautiful women recognized? Have they found a cure for cancer?” and he asked me out.
He is a master mixologist. When we moved in together, his barware boxes took up half the house. He’s the one who reintroduced me to alcohol and showed me that if done right, it can be fun. When I was asked to interview at Pernod Ricard, it was Deepu who said, “Don’t screw this up!”
I wasn’t sure if I could work for a wine and spirits brand after everything I had been through. He said, “Don’t you understand? The universe is speaking to you and telling you that this is your opportunity to right the wrongs. How can you say no?’
Part of being a great leader is having people around you who tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. Deepu showed me that if you can be a lifelong learner, vulnerable enough to listen, it can lead to really great things.
I realized that you can either walk away from the fire or walk into it. I entered the fire. If I’m in this role for five or seven years, will I have everything figured out before I leave? No. What I hope to leave behind is a legacy of people who are inspired and believe they can make a difference.
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