Chitra Subramaniam

Chitra Subramaniam is an award winning journalist and best selling author with a strong background in media, public health and public policy. Her 10-year, three-country Bofors investigation (1987-1997) in Sweden, Switzerland and India led to the electoral defeat of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1989. It also changed Swiss laws on international assistance in criminal matters. 

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In 1998, Subramaniam worked with the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. She led the work on media, communication and policy for the negotiations that spanned five years and involved over 195 countries. The FCTC, the world’s first treaty devoted entirely to public health, was born in 2003. 

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In 2004, Subramaniam set up CSD Consulting, a Switzerland-based business development, marketing and communication company, to promote ethical business practices between India and Europe. The company’s clients included Fortune 500 companies.

In 2014, Subramaniam co-founded The News Minute, an independent digital news platform in Bangalore, India. The portal covers news from all five south Indian states. 

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Subramaniam has a Bachelor’s in English from Delhi University, India, and a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University, US. A polyglot, her interests include music, philosophy and cooking.  She lives in Switzerland with her husband Dr Giancarlo Duella. When in India, Bangalore is Subramaniam’s home.

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