Team

Founder and Group CEO, Samunnati

Anil Kumar SG is the Founder and Group CEO of Samunnati. His passion to bring resounding impact in the agri ecosystem led to the establishment of India’s largest enterprise, Samunnati. His vision was translated to Samunnati’s mission, which is to create an open agri-network to unlock the Trillion dollar plus potential of Indian agriculture with smallholder farmers at the center of it.

Anil has received awards/recognitions from several forums, including the Best Social Entrepreneur in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Programme 2018; the TiE Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2013; Real Leaders Impact Award 2020 (ranked 83 in top 100) and the ET Social Enterprise Start-up award in 2020. Anil is also on the task force for CII on Agri Start-ups and FICCI on Minimizing Food loss and Wastage.

Anil has close to three decades of experience in the areas of Rural, Retail and Agri Banking. Anil’s professional journey has lent him an understanding of Indian smallholder farmers. Prior to Samunnati, Anil was the Co-Founder & Trustee of IFMR Trust and the CEO of IFMR Rural Channels. Anil holds a Masters in Management from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration from Symbiosis Institute of Management, Pune and a graduate degree in Humanities from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Director

Gurunath N is the executive director of Samunnati, India’s largest agri-tech enterprise. With over 30 years of experience in the banking and financial services space, Gurunath has also worked at Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank and ICICI Bank. He is responsible for all operational aspects of Samunnati as well as some of the key support functions like Business Performance of Samunnati Financial (Lending). He is also on the Board of Samunnati. As the Director, he engages and builds long-term relationships while ensuring the culture and values of Samunnati are in place.

Director

Pravesh Sharma, has been inferred with the title of “Father of Indian FPOs” and works to create a truly inclusive and viable agri enterprise, leveraging the strength of farmer collectives to create an ecosystem addressing the core needs of farmers for capital, technology, and markets.

Mr. Sharma joined the Board of Samunnati’ Agro in May 2021. He was the founder-CEO of Kamatan, an agri-tech start-up launched in 2018 to create an inclusive supply chain by integrating farmers with markets. Kamatan works with various stakeholders of the agriculture value chain including farmers, FPOs, Mills and Agri-Enterprises. It is now a group company of Samunnati. Praveshji is also the Chair of the Steering Group of the National Association of Farmer Producer Organisations (NAFPO), a platform created to build awareness for issues related to FPOs. He also writes extensively on issues of agriculture, rural development, and rural finance.

He was an alumnus of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Master’s degree in History (1976-1981), and was selected to the Indian Administrative Service in 1982. He served for over 20 years in Madhya Pradesh in projects relating to food and agriculture, rural finance and natural resources management and then went on to serve for 3 years in the Prime Minister’s Office between 1999 and 2001.

CEO, Samunnati Agri Innovation Labs (SAIL)
Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

A global business leader, Suresh brings over 30 years of expertise in Banking, Payments, and Fintech, having held key leadership roles at global banks, Infosys, and FSS Solutions. Most recently, he served as CEO of Wibmo, a global full stack PayTech Platform company acquired by Naspers-backed PayU. With deep expertise in technology, platform development, and financial services, he will drive Samunnati’s digital transformation, spearhead innovations, and strengthen market linkages through SAIL, scaling technology-led solutions for the agri ecosystem.

Chief Operating Officer

With an extensive career spanning over thirty years in banking, Phani brings a wealth of experience across various domains including Retail and Corporate Banking Operations, Trade Finance, Administration, and Business Operations and has served in several roles at ICICI Bank Ltd prior to joining us. Phani has played a pivotal role in achieving business goals aligning to the overall business objectives of the bank, contributing significantly to business growth, and implementing strategies towards enhancing Customer Experience, Market Penetration, Business Volumes and growth. He comes with proven experience in streamlining workflows and creating a work environment to enhance profitability. Phani started his career with Central Bank of India and working with Axis Bank before joining ICICI Bank. He holds MBA with a focus on Banking and Financial Support Services from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai.

Chief Business Officer

With a profound passion for building new businesses and creating value, Kiran has a remarkable track record of initiating and scaling up Ag MSME and corporate supply chain ventures, shaping them into sustainable revenue and impact-generating verticals. Prior to joining us, Kiran was associated with IndusInd Bank as Executive Vice President & Business Head- Ag MSME & Corporate Business Group.

In his previous role, Kiran successfully set up and scaled Ag MSME and Corporate value chain businesses, contributing significantly to both asset and profit growth. His extensive experience, coupled with his leadership qualities, will undoubtedly drive our team towards greater success. He has completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Gujarat. With more than two decades of work experience, Kiran has worked with Kotak Mahindra Bank & Axis Bank in the past.

Chief Growth and Revenue Officer

Over 34 years of experience in the BFSI sector and Fintech Industries, Sai previously worked with Infosys, Finacle Canada and comes with a rich experience of having worked with some of the major banks such as ICICI Bank India & Canada, Andhra Bank & SBI. Sai is thrilled and enthusiastic about his new position helping smallholder farmers gain access to markets and empowering them via innovation.

Group Head- Risk Management

BV Sudhakar has joined us as Group Head – Risk Management to drive and oversee Enterprise Risk Management. Sudhakar brings over three decades of extensive experience in credit operations, risk management, and fraud risk management, coupled with a proven track record of leadership and strategic decision making.

His last stint was with Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd, where he was responsible for Risk Management. His other stints include with Avanse Financial Services Ltd, L&T Financial Services, TATA Capital Ltd etc. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Nagarjuna University. He will be based out of Chennai.

Chief Human Resources Officer

With nearly 30 years of experience, Venkatesh brings deep expertise in HR leadership, brand strategy, and cultural transformation across leading organisations like Shoppers Stop, Reliance, and Future Group. A certified Marshall Goldsmith coach, mentor, and national weightlifting champion, he embodies holistic leadership and growth. At Samunnati, he will lead our people strategy, nurturing talent, strengthening culture, and building future-ready teams, aligned with our mission to make markets work for smallholder farmers. As we step into a new phase of our journey as Samunnati 2.0, this leadership addition is aligned with our broader vision to strengthen our foundation and future through strategic innovation and people-centric growth

Group Chief Financial Officer

With over 36 years of experience across NBFC, FMCG, and Services sectors, he has held leadership roles at IndoStar Capital (a Brookfield portfolio company), Muthoot Capital Services, Outlook Publishing, Asianet Satellite Communications, Cadbury Schweppes Beverages, and Coca-Cola India. A seasoned finance leader, Vinod has successfully driven large-scale fund-raises, rating upgrades, and market capitalization growth. Recognized among the Top 100 CFOs by CFO Magazine (2018) and winner of the Financial Express CFO Award (2020), he is also known for his strong commitment to corporate governance and ethical leadership.