Dr. Villoo Morawala Patell - Founder, Chairperson & Managing Director

Dr. Patell was awarded a Ph.D in 1993 in Plant molecular biology from University of Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg in France and did a Post-doctoral tenure from University of Ghent, Belgium. She has received several prestigious grants from Institutions such as The Rockefeller Foundation, Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR), DFID etc. Dr. Patell and her group at Avesthagen have to their credit several patent applications in the field of Gene Discovery, Gene Functionality, Gene Transformation, Bioinformatics and Biotherapeutics. Dr. Patell currently is the Chairperson & Managing Director of Avesthagen, Bangalore. Dr. Patell is a member of Advisory Board for Biotechnology at Mysore University as well. Owing to her pioneering work in the field of molecular biology, Dr. Patell has long-standing professional relationships with individuals, institutions and corporates working in the domain of Agri-Biotechnology across the world. She is a key member of the Task Force and Vision Group for Biotechnology, instituted by the State Government of Karnataka and founding member of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE). Dr. Patell has received the BioSpectrum Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2006 and Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur for the year 2005-2006 from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Mr. Samaresh Parida - Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Samaresh Parida joined Avesthagen in August 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. Samaresh, a visionary Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and MBA degree holder from IIM Ahmedabad, He has over 22 years of experience in senior management in the FMCG environment both in India and in the US. He joined Avesthagen from Pepsi Co, USA where he worked for eighteen years. A seasoned management professional Mr. Parida brings significant knowledge and experience in strategic planning, corporate finance, risk management and business process transformation. He led several high profile Acquisition/Merger and Restructuring transactions, including the acquisition of Quaker Foods, Gatorade and many other major acquisitions in Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Russia and India. He has previously worked with DCM Toyota and Andersen Consulting in India.

Mr. Bruce Murdoch - Chief Business Officer

Bruce Murdoch joined Avesthagen in October 2006 as Chief Business Officer. An experienced pharmaceutical executive, he has held a number of Senior Management positions within General Management, Marketing and M&A fields in the pharmaceutical industry within UK and Asia between 1975 and 2002. Mr. Murdoch recently held the position of CEO of Genaderm Ltd, a privately held pharmaceutical development company based in London. The company was developing products within the Infectious disease and dermatological fields.


Prior to this he was Country Manager and Vice President for Schering-Plough Corp in Indonesia, VP for Pharmacia Asia in Hong Kong, President of Pharmacia Japan, Regional VP-North Asia for Astra AB and Board Member of SSPC, a joint venture of Astra AB and KabiVitrum in China. He received his degree in Biological Sciences with Statistics from Nottingham University in 1971 and has been Chairman and Director of the Pharmaceutical Associations (IFPMA) within Thailand, Hong Kong and Indonesia. He was also the resident delegate of the PhRMA (US association) between 1996-2002 in Indonesia. He is a member of the Institute of Directors in London.

Mr. Koen Wentink - Chief Logistics Officer

Mr. Koen Wentink is Chief Logistics Officer of the Avesthagen since September 2000. He Completed his Master of Science Degree in Agriculture (Crop Science) at Wageningen Agricultural University. The Netherlands with Majors in Plant Breeding, Crop Modeling and Business Administration, he has immense experience in productivity improvement and management control in Europe and Asia in diverse businesses. Here at Avesthagen he is a member of the management team and responsible for ensuring that contracts secured are deliverable in terms of capacity, consumables, quality and time. He is also responsible for overall control and follow up on the Financial, Legal & Administrative functions of the company.

Mr. Supriyo Kumar Guha - Company Secretary

Mr. Supriyo Kumar Guha is an Honors Graduate in Commerce (with Advanced Accountancy as specialization).  He is also a qualified Company Secretary and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Company secretaries of India. He joined us as Company Secretary on 1^st February 2006.  He comes to us from AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd (subsidiary of AstraZeneca group).  Previous to that he has worked in reputed Companies like Autoliv-IFB Ltd (part of the world wide Autoliv AB), TATA group and IFB (Bosch) group. He has varied experience in handling IPO, Stock exchange matters, Risk Management, Company Law, HR and Finance.

Dr. Rajesh Ullanat - Chief Scientist - bioPharmaceuticals

Dr. Rajesh Ullanat was awarded his Ph.D in 2000 following his research into "Light and phytohormone regulated gene expression in higher plant systems" at the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. Prior to assuming his present position at Avesthagen, Dr Ullanat pursued his post-doctoral studies at Plant Research International, Wageningen, The Netherlands, where his research featured an investigation into the molecular genetics of the medicinal plant Hypericum perforatum (St John Wort). Dr. Ullanat's research at Avesthagen is focused on the isolation of novel lead compounds of therapeutical or nutraceutical relevance from the medicinal plant flora prevalent in India and their subsequent target identification.

Mr. Sandip Dang - Chief Executive Officer,  Avesta Good Earth Food Pvt. Ltd.


Mr. Sandip Dang has joined in Avesta Good Earth Foods as Chief Executive Officer. He has completed his MBA in Marketing at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India in the year 1986.  He worked for Saregama India Limited as General manager prior to join in Avesta Good Earth Foods. He has vast experience in marketing in various companies such as RPG Cellular Services Ltd., Cadbury and Britannia Industries Ltd.

Mr. K.S. Narayana Swamy - Chief Executive Officer, ATASH SEEDS (P) Ltd.,


Mr. KS Narayana Swamy is an Agribusiness professional with Masters in Business Management and has over 25 years of experience in Hybrid Seeds and other Agri businesses in Senior Management positions.

He joined the Avesthagen in May 2007 from Advanta India Ltd., where he worked as Senior Vice President for over 12 years. He has previously worked with South India Viscose Ltd., ITC Ltd and ITC Zeneca Limited in various positions as General Manager, National Sales Manager and in Marketing with Karnataka state seeds corporation ltd.

He is the Chairman, Industry affairs committee, and National seed association of India, New Delhi and Senior Vice-President Bangalore Management Association, President Karnataka maize development association (KMDA) and has served as president of the Seed Industry Association of Karnataka for over 10 years and was the president of Biotechnology Committee of FKCCI, A member Biotechnology Committee FICCI and Director in the board of Karnataka state seed certification, A Government of Karnataka undertaking.