With over a century's worth of combined leadership experience in the nutraceutical and supplement industry, our team fuses innovation with strategic thinking and implementation.
During a career spanning over 30-years, Jim has played a leading role in nutritional products for the dietary supplement, food, animal-feed and personal-care industries. Prior to joining OmniActive as President and CEO, Jim was President and CEO of Neptune Wellness Solutions (NASDEQ-TSX:NEPT) where he led the turnaround and strategic repositioning of the company, resulting in it being recognized by the TSX as one of the top 30 performing companies on the exchange (#8), with a return of over 300%. Jim has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Acasti Pharmaceuticals (NASDEQ: ACST) and President of DSM Nutritional Products USA.
His industry knowledge and innovative approach have made him a valuable contributor to several trade associations including as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the dietary supplement industries leading trade association. He currently sits on The Board of Directors of Vitamin Angels, an non-profit organization that globally provides life-changing vitamins to children in need. Jim has also been an invited speaker to numerous industry and governmental events including the United Nations General Assembly to present on “The role of partnerships in the implementation of the UN’s post 2015 development agenda”.
Jim Hamilton – Global CEO
With a rich academic, research and business background, Arun heads up 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’s of Science in Chemistry and a Master’s and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Madras.
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, bonus, and ESOP plans, and creating HR processes, systems and infrastructure.
Askha 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).
As a seasoned pharmaceutical industry executive with a strong history in managing operations from raw material sourcing to end-product manufacturing, Chaitanya aligns, guides, and leads the operations, business and sales functions of OmniActive’s Specialty Botanicals and Extracts division. Over his almost 40 years of experience, Chaitanya has provided visionary leadership to illustrious corporations such as Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Unimark Remedies, Shasun Drug and Chemical, and Sanmar Specialty Chemicals.
Chaitanya holds Bachelor’s of Science diplomas from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai.
Jim has more than 30 years experience in diversified management and providing strategic direction at leading nutraceutical companies including Aspire Pharmaceuticals, Neptune Wellness Solutions and Nutra Manufacturing. A focused problem solver, he bring extensive experience in sales, marketing, procurement, operations and supply chain management. Jim will lead global sales at OmniActive with a specific focus to help build a best-in-class, customer-centric company.
Jim hold a BS in Management and an MBA from the University of Utah.
Vikas is a seasoned professional with diverse experience with global companies in India, the US, China, and the Philippines. As CFO, Vikas oversees and leads all of OmniActive’s finance, accounting, legal and compliance, banking, and investor relation functions.
Vikas is a Chartered Accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and obtained his MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines.
Kimberly Smith has over 22 years of nutritional ingredient experience within the dietary supplement, food & beverage and personal care industries. She has held a variety of leadership roles in marketing, business development and general management with companies such as Roche and DSM in both North America and Europe. Prior to joining OmniActive, Kimberly was Vice President, Dietary Supplements and Pharmaceuticals for DSM Nutritional Products where she developed and led the business strategy and successfully established a new business channel for the division. She was a key member of the North American leadership team.
Kimberly brings an entrepreneurial approach and a passion for accessible nutrition to this role. Her demonstrated success in marketing and sales leadership, strategy development, and building collaborative teams will help drive the marketing and growth strategy for OmniActive. Kimberly holds a B.S. in Integrative Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Sanjaya Mariwala – Executive Chairman
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 1990-2014. 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.
Jim Hamilton
During a career spanning over 30-years, Jim has played a leading role in nutritional products for the dietary supplement, food, animal-feed and personal-care industries. Prior to joining OmniActive as President and CEO, Jim was President and CEO of Neptune Wellness Solutions (NASDEQ-TSX:NEPT) where he led the turnaround and strategic repositioning of the company, resulting in it being recognized by the TSX as one of the top 30 performing companies on the exchange (#8), with a return of over 300%. Jim has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Acasti Pharmaceuticals (NASDEQ: ACST) and President of DSM Nutritional Products USA.
Rajeev Bakshi
In addition to serving as a board member with several companies including OmniActive, Rajeev has recently served as the Managing Director of METRO Cash & Carry India where he provided strategic leadership for their overall operations and growth. He has also held senior leadership positions in companies like ICICI Ventures, PepsiCo International and Cadbury Schweppes. Currently, he helps drive OmniActive’s strategic and marketing initiatives.
Ketki Bhagwati
Ketki serves as the Chief Investment Officer in the Financial Institutions Group at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group. Prior to IFC, she worked at the Credit Rating Information Services of India (CRISIL) in Mumbai.
MSA Kumar
Currently, MSA is a Family Business Advisor and CEO Coach at Catalyst 360i. During his 20 years tenure with the AV Thomas group, he has been the Managing Director of AVT Natural Products Ltd, AVT McCormick Ingredients Pvt Ltd, and Cochin since the inception of the companies in 1995.
Leendart Staal, Ph. D
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).
Arjun Oberoi
Arjun’s professional career began as a corporate consultant for McKinsey. From there he served as the Global Head of Healthcare for Actis and founded Cure Capital in 2017. He has more than 15 years of leadership experience with major healthcare MNCs such as Stryker, Sanofi and Pfizer. Currently, Arjun is the Managing Director of Everstone Capital and has been leading their healthcare platform, Everlife, as Vice Chairman. He is an experienced investor with proven track record in the healthcare sector.
Guru Ramanathan
Guru served as the Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Vice President for Pittsburgh-based General Nutrition Corporation (GNC). Prior to joining the OmniActive board he also held positions as Senior Director for Royal Numico’s US subsidiaries and Medical Director for the US subsidiary of Scotia Pharmaceuticals. His industry experience spans Clinical care, Pharma, Consumer health, Animal health and the Retail sectors. Guru has also held various industry consulting, research and teaching appointments in India and the US.
Hiren Doshi
Throughout his professional career, Hiren has served in several leadership positions and to help companies transition from startup to scale up. He is a founding member of OmniActive where he oversaw global business development, sales and business operations. Currently, Hiren serves as CEO of Paragon Private health.
Milind Sarwate
As an advisor and mentor, Milind has served as Director for several companies including Mahindra Finance, Mindtree, Glenmark, Metropolis, and Matrimony.com. In 2015 he established Increate to leverage his 36 years of experience to help organizations & individuals discover, develop & deliver business & social value.
