Meet the team

Pramod brings more than 20 years of experience in general management, strategy, commercial operations, agriculture-based supply chains, mergers & acquisitions, and innovation. He has held prominent roles, including serving as President of FMC’s Asia Pacific region and FMC USA, along with key leadership positions at Booz & Company and Wipro Technologies.

Pramod holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech, USA, and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Adam has nearly two decades of B2B / industry experience. He has worked in leadership positions at companies such as Lonza, Capsugel, Air products and Pfizer. Adam has extensive expertise in business development, strategic growth planning and driving innovation while building and leading high-performing teams.

Adam is a science graduate from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and has studied at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kapil has 20 years of experience, mainly in consumer goods and pharmaceutical business. He has strong expertise in strategy development, analysis and planning, business performance management, corporate finance, cost optimization, M&A, joint ventures management, board governance, shared services and IT transformation. He previously held Global CFO position at Sentiss Pharma and CFO for the International Business at Cipla. He also worked at Mondelēz International in various Indian and international roles.

Kapil holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from Manchester Business School in the UK and a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology in Calicut, India. He has also completed General Management Program from Harvard Business School, USA.

With a rich academic, research and business background, Arun heads OmniActive’s R&D efforts. He is primarily responsible for establishing processes for quick turnaround of projects driven by customer needs, developing delivery platforms and improving existing products.

Arun has held positions as a professor/researcher at the Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai, and as Senior VP for Screening and External Liaison of the natural products division at Piramal Lifesciences. Arun holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Madras.

Mukesh is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of expertise in pioneering farmer-facing agriculture supply chains. His career spans renowned global corporations, including PepsiCo, Walmart, ITC Limited, BILT, and LT Foods.

At OmniActive, Mukesh drives our global agricultural strategy to elevate nutraceutical value chains, implementing a precise, farm-to-formulation model.

Mukesh holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture and a post-graduate degree in Agri-Business Management.

With over 15 years of experience, Akshay has helped lead human resources for global commercial operations in various geographical locations for companies such as Cipla, Infosys, and TNT India. Akshay holds special expertise in talent requisition and recruitment, designing performance, bonuses, ESOP plans, and creating HR processes, systems, and infrastructure.

Akshay holds a PGDM, HRD from the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resources as well as licenses and certifications from IDEO (Insights for Innovation) and Korn Ferry (Job Evaluation Methodology).

With over 25 years of extensive experience in Operations and Supply Chain at Asian Paints, Brijesh possesses expertise in strategic planning, process optimization, and operational efficiency within complex environments. In-depth manufacturing knowledge fuels a strong commitment to continuous innovation and operational excellence.

Brijesh holds a post-graduate degree in science and has refined his leadership acumen through Management Development Programs at IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore.

Sanjaya Mariwala is a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the natural food and supplement ingredients space. He is a founding member of OmniActive and provides strategic and financial oversight and guidance to the company’s global teams. He had served as Managing Director of Kancor Ingredients from 1990 to 2014. Sanjaya’s numerous professional and industrial affiliations include the India Pepper & Spice Trade Association, All India Spices Exporters Forum, Confederation of Indian Industry, Indian Merchant’s Chamber, TIE-The Indus Entrepreneurs and FICCI.

Sanjay holds a degree in tax management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and has completed executive training programs at the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Vishal Gupta is currently the Director at TA Associates. Vishal focuses on investments in technology, healthcare, consumer, business, and financial services companies in India. Prior to TA, Vishal worked at Softbank Vision Fund as an investment director. Vishal earned his Bachelor of Technology in Industrial Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and his post-graduate program from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Dhiraj heads the Indian operations of TA Associates Advisory Pvt. Ltd., focusing on investments in companies in India and other emerging markets. He has advised on over 11 investments across financial services, technology, healthcare and business services. He joined TA in 2010 and has more than 15 years of experience in the private equity industry. He received a degree from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an MBA Degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Milind Sarwate is an advisor, mentor, independent director and ESG contributor. He is the Founder and CEO of Increate, a firm that works towards business and social value creation, with a focus on capability-building, and the governance and social aspects of ESG.

Milind’s independent directorships include Asian Paints, Mahindra Finance, FSN E-Commerce (Nykaa), Matrimony.com, and Hexaware. He specializes in audit committee roles. He has been on listed company boards since 2005. His previous board memberships include Mindtree and International Paper. His 40-year experience includes long stints as CFO and CHRO in Marico & Godrej.

He is a Chartered Accountant (1983), Cost Accountant (1983), Company Secretary (1984), and a CII-Fulbright Fellow (Carnegie Mellon University, USA, 1996). He has been awarded the ICAI CFO Award (2011), CNBC TV-18 CFO Award (2012) and CFO India Hall of Fame induction (2013).

Leendart has held numerous senior level positions within the DSM group: as President and Chief Executive Officer of DSM Nutritional Products from January 2008 to March 2013 and previously as President and Chief Executive Officer of DSM Pharmaceuticals. He has also served as Group Vice President of Quest International and was Chairman of Unipath (a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever).

Rupa Vora is an independent director on corporate boards with more than three decades of experience in finance. She was the Group Director & CFO of IDFC Alternatives for more than a decade, and earlier CFO of the Indian operations of Antwerp Diamond Bank N.V. and KBC Bank N.V. Rupa was also associated with Calyon Bank and Oman International Bank S.A.O.G., and before joining the corporate world, ran an independent practice as a chartered accountant for almost a decade. 

Rupa has been conferred with the “Women Leadership Excellence Award” at the IPE – BFSI Awards 2013 by the Institute of Public Enterprise and was featured among India’s 10 most influential women in finance by Rediff.com in 2012. She is a fellow member of the Institute of Directors and a lifetime member of the Independent Director’s Data Bank of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs. Rupa is also a member of CII’s National Committee on Financial Reporting from 2020-2021 to 2022-2023.