Archna Vyas

Archna Vyas leads the foundation’s work in India, which ranges from health care and sanitation to agricultural development, gender equality, and financial inclusion.

Since joining the foundation in 2014, Archna has held multiple leadership roles that advance health and development in India as well as globally, in collaboration with governments, nonprofits, community groups, academia, and the private sector. Most recently, she served as the global director of program advocacy and communications. In that role, her work included leading the foundation’s successful advocacy for G20 support of digital public infrastructure, digital health, and women’s economic empowerment in India, Brazil, and South Africa and for permanent representation for the African Union in the G20. She was also instrumental in the creation of the Behavioural Insights Unit within the Indian government’s NITI Aayog policy think tank, in collaboration with Ashoka University’s Centre for Social and Behaviour Change.

Earlier, Archna spent nearly a decade leading media relations, communications, and digital marketing efforts across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa for Reckitt, a company with 30-plus health, hygiene, and home brands. She also spent many years in the advertising industry, where she held leadership positions and supported the launch and growth of many consumer goods brands in India.

Among other advisory positions, Archna has served on the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural Sciences for Better Health as well as the governing body of the South Asia Social Norms Learning Collaborative, an initiative based at Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health.

Archna has a master’s degree in physics from the University of Delhi, a diploma in public relations and mass communications from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, and a postgraduate diploma in business administration from the Institute of Management Technology. She has also studied the use of behavioral insights in policymaking at the Harvard Kennedy School.