"No-Nonsense, Plain-Speaking Guy": Anand Mahindra Recalls Hosting Canada PM-Elect Mark Carney In 2017

Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra recently recalled hosting Canadian Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney when he was the Governor of the Bank of England. Taking to X, Mr Mahindra shared that he met Mr Carney in 2017 at Mahindra's headquarters in Mumbai. He was part of a delegation led by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Mahindra described Mr Carney as a "cerebral man, with a great sense of humour" and a "no-nonsense, plain-speaking guy". He also shared that during their meeting, the two exchanged travel stories rather than discuss serious economic matters. 

"When Mark Carney, Prime Minister Designate of Canada, was the Governor of the Bank of England, we had the pleasure of hosting him at our Headquarters in Mumbai in 2017 as part of the delegation led by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mark is a cerebral man, with a great sense of humour. But he's also a no-nonsense, plain-speaking guy," the industrialist wrote. 

When Mark Carney, Prime Minister Designate of Canada, was the Governor of the Bank of England, we had the pleasure of hosting him at our Headquarters in Mumbai in 2017 as part of the delegation led by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Mark is a cerebral man, with a great… pic.twitter.com/oSYq4NsLvj

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 12, 2025

Further, as Mr Carney prepares to take on the leadership of Canada, Mr Mahindra acknowledged the immense challenges ahead, particularly in today's complex global landscape. However, he expressed confidence in Mr Carney's ability to navigate the responsibilities of the role effectively.

"It's going to be an incredibly challenging assignment in today's times - to put it mildly!  But if anyone is up to the task, he is. I wish him good fortune. And I wish I could say I was discussing weighty matters with him over lunch, but, no, we were just swapping travel stories..!" Mr Mahindra wrote. 

Who is Mark Carney? 

Notably, the X post comes as Mr Carney, 59, prepares to step into the challenging role of leading Canada. He won 85.9 percent of the ballots cast in the Liberal Party leadership vote and will become prime minister tomorrow, Friday. 

Mr Carney will be the first Canadian PM with no political experience. He has never held an elected public office or service in the government cabinet. He was born in Fort Smith, a small town in the Northwest Territories, where his parents were teachers, but he was raised in Edmonton, Alberta's capital. 

Also Read | Mark Carney To Be Sworn In As Canada PM Tomorrow

Mr Carney studies at Harvard University in the US and Oxford in England, and the initial part of his career saw him make a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, working in New York, London, Tokyo and Toronto.

Mr Carney then joined the Canadian civil service, eventually being appointed governor of the Bank of Canada by former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008. In 2013, the government of then-British prime minister David Cameron tapped him to lead the Bank of England, making Mr Carney the first non-Briton to lead the bank in its more than 300-year history.