Adrian Mutton
Over the past three decades, Adrian’s career has focused on international sales, business development and global market entry and expansion of travel, tech and consulting companies.
His geographically diverse business experience commenced when he launched his first business in India in 1993. Now based in Washington D.C., he has lived and worked in New Delhi, London, Chicago, Johannesburg, Singapore and Switzerland. After an IPO and exit from a tech company in 2006 (and a 15 month personal round the world adventure that followed), in 2008 Adrian moved to New Delhi to establish Sannam S4 Group. His aim was to provide a fit for purpose support platform for businesses, universities and non-profit seeking to explore, enter and expand into India. Sannam S4 Group now employs 250+ staff, operates across 20 global markets and is trusted by hundreds of the world’s leading organisations to support their international tax, accounting, HR, market research and project implementation needs.
In 2008 Adrian was appointed as the founding Country Director of the UK – India Business Council (UKIBC), a newly established advocacy and trade promotion body backed by the UK Government. At the UKIBC Adrian pioneered a new UK-India trade support model, which remains in effect today.
In 2015 following an engagement with the U.S. Secretary of State in India, he was invited by the U.S. India Business Council to participate in President Obama and Prime Minister Modi’s U.S. India Business Summit in New Delhi. His inputs at the Summit were tabled for discussion in the historic U.S. India CEO Forum and resulted in the launch of a number of “U.S. Business Centers” across India. These Centers were a groundbreaking initiative pioneered by Sannam S4 Group in collaboration with the U.S. India Business Council (USIBC), JLL and Citibank India, providing highly effective market entry and local business expansion support to U.S. companies, universities, and non-profit organizations, supporting billions of dollars of bi-lateral trade between the countries on an annual basis.
In 2018 Adrian pioneered the launch of the U.S.-India Knowledge Exchange (USIKE) in Washington D.C., in collaboration with the U.S-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and supported by both the India and US governments. The USIKE convenes the leading minds in academia, innovation, public policy, private sector and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and India, facilitating greater cooperation and collaboration on a range of significant and mutually strategic student and university faculty mobility and research initiatives and drives important policy reform agendas.
In 2019, Adrian was appointed to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Trade Facilitation Group National MSME Council, established to support the Government of India’s Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). This group provides strategic direction and act as an advisory to the Council on issues related to market access and trade policy at Central and Regional/State levels.
Adrian is often featured in the international business press. He is regularly engaged by international governments, their trade support agencies, trade associations and industry bodies seeking to develop more effective ways of facilitating international trade and investment.
Adrian is an adventurous skier, keen golfer, runner and podcast listener (ideally together) and a future astronaut on Virgin Galactic.
