Corporate Leadership Team

Shekhar Anantharaman, Executive Director and CEO at ofi
A. Shekhar
Executive Director & CEO

Shekhar was appointed CEO of ofi in January 2020 upon its creation following the reorganization of the Olam Group. Shekhar joined Olam in 1992 and has been an Executive Director and a member of the Group Board since 1998. Shekhar held a variety of roles in the Olam Group, he was previously Group Chief Operating Officer, Executive Director – Finance and Business Development, and prior to this he incubated and managed various global businesses including the Nuts, Spices and Packaged Foods businesses, where he led many of the Company’s organic and inorganic growth initiatives. 

Rishi Kalra, Executive Director and CFO at ofi
Rishi Kalra
Executive Director & CFO

Rishi was appointed CFO of ofi in January 2020 upon its creation following the reorganization of the Olam Group. Rishi began his career with Olam in 2000 and during this period has served as CFO India, CFO West Africa, and President and Global Head of Corporate Finance. He is a founding member of the first Circle of Practice in Asia of The Prince of Wales Charitable Project, Accounting for Sustainability (A4S). A4S inspires action by finance leaders to drive a fundamental shift towards resilient business models and a sustainable economy.

Profile shot of Ashok Kristen, Managing Director and CEO, nuts
Ashok Krishen
Managing Director & CEO, nuts

Ashok is a management graduate with almost 30 years’ experience. He has been with Olam since 1992 and is the Global Head of the nuts business which includes almonds, cashew, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios and walnuts. He is also Chairman of the Executive Human Resource and Compensation Committee.

Profile shot of Prakash Jhanwer, Global Head - Sales and New Channels
Prakash Jhanwer
Managing Director and CEO, Spices

Prakash joined Olam in 1998, taking responsibility for coffee operations in Uganda. He moved into the risk function in 2001 and relocated to Vietnam in 2007 to take on the role of Country Head, extending to a regional role in 2010.

 

Since 2016, he has been responsible for Olam’s Southeast Asia and China operations, which he continues to manage today. His key markets include China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.

 

Prakash is a Graduate of Commerce and holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. He was recently awarded the prestigious Young Alumni Achiever Award by his alma mater for Corporate Leadership.

Profile shot of Vivek Verma, Managing Director & CEO, coffee
Vivek Verma
Managing Director & CEO, coffee

Vivek joined Olam in 1992 to head operations in India. He is currently responsible for the Coffee and Commodity Financial Services businesses. Originally trained as an engineer, Vivek has over 30 years’ agri‑commodities experience.

Profile shot of Sandeep Jan, Managing Director and CEO, diary
Sandeep Jain
Chief Commercial Officer & CEO, Dairy

Having joined Olam in 1998, Sandeep has expertise across all five ofi product platforms. He became CEO of ofi’s Dairy business in 2017, also taking on the role of Global Head of Sales in 2020. As CCO, Sandeep has responsibility for driving sales excellence and customer centricity with more focussed key account management processes. In leading the ofi F&B Solutions platform, Sandeep oversees global strategy execution for the platform enabling it to become a growth driver for the business. He also continues to oversee the Dairy business globally.

 

Sandeep is a Graduate of Commerce and holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.

Profile shot of Tejinder Singh Saraon, Managing Director, cocoa
Tejinder Singh Saraon
Managing Director & CEO, Cocoa

Teji joined Olam in 1997 and went on to manage ofi’s cocoa business in Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Singapore. He moved to London in 2009 to manage the company’s global cocoa beans and products business, returning to Singapore in 2019.

 

He was integral in the integration process following the acquisition of ADM Cocoa in 2015. He is an expert in cocoa trading and origination, and previously served on the Board of Cocoa Association of Asia.

Close up photograph of Ian Haselgrave the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary
Ian Haslegrave
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary

Ian joined ofi in January 2022, taking responsibility for the global legal, compliance and company secretarial teams.

 

Ian has over 30 years of experience working in both private practice and global FTSE listed companies across a diverse range of sectors including food, media and distribution. He has significant commercial, M&A and management experience with previous roles including executive management responsibility for HR, information security, indirect procurement and risk at a global level.   

Close up photograph of Kamesh Ellajosyula the Chief Innovation & Quality Officer
Kamesh Ellajosyula
Chief Innovation & Quality Officer

Kamesh joined Olam in 2010 and held various senior manufacturing, innovation and quality roles. In 2020 he became Chief Innovation & Quality Officer at ofi, overseeing a global network of Innovation centers and driving quality and food safety across 100+ food ingredient manufacturing plants.

 

Kamesh holds a Master’s degree in Food Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York.

Close up photograph of Dan Turney the President & Global Head of Operations
Dan Turney
President & Global Head of Operations

Dan joined ofi in January of 2022, bringing with him 35 years of FMCG food industry experience. His industry experience includes many iconically branded food companies, several private label manufacturing entities as well as multiple private equity portfolio companies. Specializing in end to end operations and supply chain disciplines, Dan’s focus is delivering the ‘one-ofi’ business for all stakeholders across a balanced scorecard of performance. As the global, functional lead for operations, Dan is responsible for aligning and realizing successful, holistic results for ofi across more that 115+ facilities around the globe.

Close up photograph of Sathyamurthy Mayilswamy the CEO & Managing Director – Americas
Sathyamurthy Mayilswamy
CEO & Managing Director – Americas

Sathyamurthy (Satya) joined Olam in 1996 to manage Cashew and Cocoa operations in Nigeria. He moved to Cameroon as Country Head in 2001 before taking the role of Country Head – Nigeria & Benin in 2004. He then established the business across South America in 2007. In 2020 he served as Regional Head for Latin America and head of Cocoa Americas for ofi. He was appointed to his current position leading ofi Americas in 2024.

 

Satya has more than 30 years of international industry experience. He is an agricultural Engineering Graduate from CAE, TNAU (India) and holds an MBA from IRMA (India).

Close up photograph of Yusuke Kurosaki the Senior Vice President, CEO Office
Yusuke Kurosaki
Senior Vice President, CEO Office

Yusuke joined Olam in 2016 and has worked across a wide range of initiatives, including corporate strategy, re-organization & re-structuring, operational excellence and customer excellence.

 

He has been in the food & beverage industry for over 15 years and has held various positions within the sector from supply chain & procurement, international sales & marketing, to business development and M&A.

 

Yusuke holds an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.

Close up photograph of Usha Kakaria-Cayaux the Chief Human Resources Officer
Usha Kakaria-Cayaux
Chief Human Resources Officer

Usha joined ofi in September 2022, taking responsibility for driving the company’s one-ofi strategy and amplifying its unique entrepreneurial culture leading global diversity, inclusion and equity, organization effectiveness and global talent management.

 

With over 25 years of professional experience across a diverse set of industries and iconic brands, she has expertise across finance, sales, marketing, project management and strategy. Usha has worked across all areas of HR – leading HR strategy, talent management, organization transformation, leadership development and succession. 

Close up photograph of Steve Byers the Chief Digital and Information Officer
Steve Byers
Chief Digital and Information Officer

Steve joined ofi in September 2022, taking responsibility for expanding ofi’s leadership position on sustainability by digitizing traceability, supply chain delivery, and social impact transparency.

 

Steve has over 30 years of experience, which includes working at blue chip global listed companies across a diverse range of sectors including distribution, consumer goods and food ingredients. He holds significant experience in Information Technology (IT) management and leading large-scale digital transformational initiatives.

Roel van Poppel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Roel van Poppel
Chief Sustainability Officer

Roel joined Olam in 2013 as the global commercial lead for its spices business. He then moved internally to lead the award-winning sustainability insights management system AtSource. Most recently, Roel was seconded as a co-founder of the wider industry led sustainability measurement digital platform TRACT. In 2024 he became Chief Sustainability Officer at ofi, with responsibility for scaling ofi’s ability to drive positive impact across its five leading product platforms.

 

With over 25 years of industry experience, spanning senior leadership roles across the food and agriculture sector, he has extensive expertise across both food ingredients and sustainability, along with having held several board positions – including as Vice Chair of The Sustainable Spices Initiative.

 

Roel holds an MSc from Wageningen University in environmental sciences.

Shekhar Anantharaman, Executive Director and CEO at ofi
A. Shekhar
Executive Director & CEO
Rishi Kalra, Executive Director and CFO at ofi
Rishi Kalra
Executive Director & CFO
Profile shot of Ashok Kristen, Managing Director and CEO, nuts
Ashok Krishen
Managing Director & CEO, nuts
Profile shot of Prakash Jhanwer, Global Head - Sales and New Channels
Prakash Jhanwer
Managing Director and CEO, Spices
Profile shot of Vivek Verma, Managing Director & CEO, coffee
Vivek Verma
Managing Director & CEO, coffee
Profile shot of Sandeep Jan, Managing Director and CEO, diary
Sandeep Jain
Chief Commercial Officer & CEO, Dairy
Profile shot of Tejinder Singh Saraon, Managing Director, cocoa
Tejinder Singh Saraon
Managing Director & CEO, Cocoa
Close up photograph of Ian Haselgrave the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary
Ian Haslegrave
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary
Close up photograph of Kamesh Ellajosyula the Chief Innovation & Quality Officer
Kamesh Ellajosyula
Chief Innovation & Quality Officer
Close up photograph of Dan Turney the President & Global Head of Operations
Dan Turney
President & Global Head of Operations
Close up photograph of Sathyamurthy Mayilswamy the CEO & Managing Director – Americas
Sathyamurthy Mayilswamy
CEO & Managing Director – Americas
Close up photograph of Yusuke Kurosaki the Senior Vice President, CEO Office
Yusuke Kurosaki
Senior Vice President, CEO Office
Close up photograph of Usha Kakaria-Cayaux the Chief Human Resources Officer
Usha Kakaria-Cayaux
Chief Human Resources Officer
Close up photograph of Steve Byers the Chief Digital and Information Officer
Steve Byers
Chief Digital and Information Officer
Roel van Poppel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Roel van Poppel
Chief Sustainability Officer

Read ofi news

Articles Dec 5, 2024
A living landscape partnership promoting sustainable forest management in Côte d’Ivoire

The Cavally region in Côte d’Ivoire, one of the country’s main forested areas and home to protected areas such as the Taï National Park (UNESCO), has lost more than 80% of its forest cover in the last decades which has been mainly attributed to coffee and cocoa production. In January 2023, ofi launched a three-year ‘Sustainable Forest Management’ program with IDH and customer JDE Peets, to conserve forest resources and promote sustainable coffee production in the region, referred to as the “ecological lung of Côte d’Ivoire” by the 4th vice-president of the Cavally Regional Council. At a time when coffee production is reviving in the region in response to higher global prices, the partnership is working to reduce pressure on the Taï National Park and Cavally nature reserve while improving incomes in the surrounding communities.

 

At JDE Peet’s, we are committed to fostering a sustainable future for coffee by embracing origin diversity and strengthening our footprint in Africa. This project in the Cavally region is a significant step towards protecting vital ecosystems like the Taï National Park while promoting sustainable coffee production. By working together with our partners, we aim to create an environment where both nature and communities can thrive for generations to come.” - Judith de Boer, Global Green Coffee Partnership Program Lead, JDE Peet’s

 

The partnership is focused on sustainable agricultural production and social inclusion and in its first year delivered:

  • 25,000 shade trees to mark farm boundaries, reforestation and creation of agroforestry systems.
  • Training to ~3,400 farmers on good agricultural practices integrated farm management, water protection, ecosystem conservation, and forest protection through 18 ‘trained trainers’
  • 52 forest stewards from trained youths to contribute to the protection and preservation of the classified forest through patrols
  • Entrepreneurial opportunities for 750 women through establishing 20 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and training on creating biochar from cherry husks for additional income and firewood replacement
  • 950,000 coffee saplings distributed to 2,800 farmers to contribute to the renewal of aging coffee farms.

 

The main objective of the project is to ensure that the revival of coffee production in the Cavally region does not come at the expense of the forest cover and sustainable development, as it happened in the past. We are particularly delighted that this resonates with a partner like ofi ” - Matthew Spencer, IDH Global Director, Landscapes

 

This project is contributing to ofi’s overarching target to establish 20 living landscape partnerships across our global supply chains by 2030, with 6 of these established in coffee supply chains, as set out in our Coffee LENS strategy.

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