MEET THE SPEAKERS

Speakers

Ajay TG

Westfalia Fruit India

Ajay TG is the general manager of Westfalia Fruit India and has over 12 years of experience in the fresh produce business. He has been involved in establishing Westfalia Fruit India’s operations and Sam Agri Group’s domestic distribution. He comes with a background and experience in the hospitality industry and investment banking.
Azhar Tambuwala

Sahyadri Farms

Azhar Tambuwala has been involved in the field of agriculture in India since 1995 with a focus on global markets. He, along with 22,000+ farmer shareholders, has helped create India’s largest farmer collective, Sahyadri Farms. This has taken him across the world and within India. He sits on the board of Sahyadri Farms and a range of other companies in horticulture, technology and pharmaceuticals.
Bijesh Thelakkattu

PJJ Fruits

Bijesh Thelakkattu is the head of purchasing at PJJ Fruits, leading sourcing, quality control, and supplier management. He blends operational expertise with creative brand-building, ensuring consistent supply, strong partnerships, and high product standards across South India’s competitive fresh fruit market.
Chinmayee Deulgaonkar

Control Union

Chinmayee Deulgaonkar is the managing director of Control Union India. She has 27 years of experience in the food industry with specialisation in certification, auditing, training, and regulatory activities. Chinmayee is a FOSTAC ambassador and FSSAI National Resource Person and has trained regulatory officials of FSSAI, State FDA, Dubai Municipality, Kazakhstan, as well as representing India in various ISO committee working groups of food safety management system standards.
Gopi Shankar

Global Victoria

Gopi Shankar is a seasoned international trade and investment facilitation professional with over 25 years of experience in both public and private sectors. As the head of trade for the state government of Victoria, Australia for South Asia, Gopi is responsible for driving the Victorian Government’s trade engagement with the South Asian region. He supports and assists Victorian businesses in their international expansion and growth in the region across a range of sectors including food and agribusiness.
Jitender Lohani

DJ Exports

Jitender Lohani is CEO and director of DJ Exports, which represents premium growers and shippers of fruits in India. He is a third-generation entrepreneur who has helped to revolutionise the fresh produce market in India with over three decades of experience in shipping and marketing fresh fruits. A key achievement has been his role in developing demand for Indian grapes in Asian markets including China.
Kaushal Khakhar

Kay Bee Exports

Kaushal leads Kay Bee Exports, a food safety–driven agribusiness committed to delivering safe, residue-controlled produce to global markets. Under his leadership, the company follows a fully integrated business model that includes a structured co-farming model, where the company works closely with farmers to ensure compliance with international standards. The organisation also manufactures its own bio-pesticides, strengthening its control over crop protection.
Mansi Ahuja

Ampro Marketing

Mansi Ahuja is a marketing professional with over two decades of experience in promoting high-value imported food products. As the founder and CEO of Ampro Marketing, a specialised food marketing consultancy, she has helped shape market strategies for international fresh and dried fruit boards. Her company represents the likes of Avocados Australia, World Macadamia Organisation, Turkish Hazelnuts & Turkish Dried Fruits & Pistachios, with a strong focus on market development, consumer awareness, and increasing category demand in India.
Mayank Tandon

DeHaat-Freshtrop

With almost 25 years of experience in Indian table grape exports, Mayank Tandon manages customer relationships with leading retail chains across Europe, China, and East Asia for leading exporter DeHaat-Freshtrop. Mayank recently forayed into primary agriculture with establishment of Agxotic Farms – a centre of excellence for table grapes with new genetics as they become available for Indian growers. From precision fertigation to IoT in agritech, multiple new age solutions are trialled at the centre for suitable guidance to the wider grower fraternity.
Naaznin Husein

Shamrock Nutrascience

Naaznin Husein is an eminent clinical and sports nutritionist, digital health strategist, and transformative leader in nutrition practice. She serves as co-founder and CEO of Shamrock Nutrascience, founder of Freedom Lifestyle & Wellness Centre, and is chief nutrition advisor to the Indian Navy (INS Hamla). A former president of IDA Mumbai and national leader, she drives digitalisation in nutrition, authors national publications, and advises leading Bollywood, sports, and media personalities.
Narinder Singh

Simpli Namdhari’s

Narinder Singh represents Simpli Namdhari’s, a Bangalore-based fresh food retail chain with over 25 stores. He leads the fruits and vegetables, and dairy categories, bringing more than 18 years of deep expertise in fresh produce category management, domestic and imported sourcing, assortment strategy, pricing, and building scalable, consumer-led fresh value chains.
Pritee Chaudhary

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

Pritee Chaudhary is director of the west region for the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With Mumbai at its core, the western region handles around 70 per cent of India’s food imports through its ports. Prior to joining FSSAI, Pritee worked for Mumbai Customs. Over her career spanning 19 years, she has held various senior positions in government.
Rajoo Ramlingha

Star

Rajoo Ramlingha is head of the fresh business at major Indian food retailer Star, a joint venture between Trent and Tesco. Rajoo has more than 20 years’ experience in the retail, quick commerce, B2B and agribusiness sectors.
Robert Mant

Kuehne and Nagel

Robert Mant is VP of global sales and development for seafreight perishables at Kuehne and Nagel. With 35-plus years of experience in global fresh produce logistics, he has obtained valuable and unique insights into the perishables supply chain. The reefer logistics expert held senior level positions in Dole Food Company, Compagnie Fruitiere in France and Star Reefers in the UK. In 2017, Robert took his expertise to Kuehne and Nagel, one of the world’s leading logistics companies, where he leverages the organisation’s global network of sea logistics reefer professionals to offer solutions to the customer.
Sachin Khurana

QuikRelations

Sachin Khurana is director of QuikRelations. He is an experienced trade marketing leader with extensive experience in food and beverage and agribusiness. Specialising in market expansion, trade engagement, and regulatory affairs, he has successfully led international campaigns, strengthened global partnerships, and driven impactful strategies across South Asia and the Middle East to enhance market access and consumer demand for premium food products.
Sarthak Jain

Blinkit

Sarthak Jain is director for fresh produce at Blinkit, overseeing key initiatives to drive growth and efficiency. He has extensive experience in e-commerce, retail and operational strategy. Previously Sarthak worked with companies at an early stage, playing a pivotal role in their growth and scale-up. He led the International Trade business at Vegrow and held senior leadership positions at Urban Company in the UAE and India.
Shoubhit Jain

Vegrow

Shoubhit Jain is the co-founder and CEO of Vegrow, one of India’s largest fresh fruit companies. Vegrow operates globally in branded fruits and runs multiple farmer markets (mandis) across India. Launched in 2020, Vegrow is backed by global investors like GIC, Prosus and Lightspeed. Prior to this, Shoubhit was the global lead at ITC’s Agribusiness.
Tarun Arora

IG International

Tarun Arora, director of IG International, is a second-generation leader who drives the company’s growth in fresh fruit importation and agri-tech services. He manages diverse ventures, including IG Blueberries, and works to pioneer CEA technology and agroforestry for premium fruit cultivation. Tarun also directs IG’s response to climate change challenges through ESG initiatives and strategic partnerships.
Varun Kakar

Four Pillars Australia

Varun Kakar is the director of operations (India) at Four Pillars Australia, where he leads market entry and supply chain strategy for Australian producers in India. His work focuses on building efficient, transparent cross-border trade ecosystems by aligning suppliers, distributors, and demand-side partners across the food and agriculture sectors. With a multidisciplinary background spanning law, technology, and operations, Varun brings a systems-driven approach to solving complex market challenges.