Who Is Archna Vyas? Bill Gates Foundation Appoints New Country Director

The Gates Foundation has named Archna Vyas as its new India director. Vyas takes over from Hari Menon, who has headed the foundation’s India operations since 2019 and is set to move into a global role in January 2026.

Archna will lead the foundation’s work by forging strong partnerships with central and state governments, while also working alongside philanthropists, academia, non-profits and private companies.

Since beginning its work in India in 2003, the foundation has collaborated with the Indian government and other stakeholders on initiatives covering healthcare, sanitation, gender equality, agricultural growth, digital public infrastructure, education and financial inclusion.

Vyas joined the Gates Foundation in 2014 and has since held a range of roles across its health and poverty reduction initiatives. Most recently, she led the organisation’s Global Policy and Advocacy arm, overseeing efforts focused on Growth, Opportunity and Empowerment.

Her past roles involved leading policy initiatives, forging high-value collaborations and shaping the organisation’s external messaging on issues ranging from digital public infrastructure and agricultural growth to sanitation, nutrition, global education and women’s financial empowerment.

Before her tenure at the foundation, Vyas oversaw communications and digital marketing across South and Southeast Asia for Reckitt, while also supporting its operations in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, and held senior roles at leading marketing and advertising firms.

As per her LinkedIn profile, she served as Regional Manager - Media and Corporate Communications, South East Asia, at  Reckitt Benckiser from October 2009 to March 2014.

There, she “led Media strategy development, management, and media buying. Additionally, led corporate communications and digital marketing for South East Asia.” Previously, she also had another four-year stint at the company.

At the beginning of her career, she worked at Ogilvy (formerly Ogilvy & Mather) for three years. 

Archna Vyas earned a master’s in physics from the University of Delhi and a postgraduate diploma in business administration from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.