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G. Chandrashekhar is an Independent Director on the Agriwise Board. He is an economist with passion for analyzing agriculture, agribusiness and commodity markets (including metals and energy products) as also international trade and developmental issues. He is M.A. (Economics) and LL.M. (Constitution & Administrative Law), Bombay University.

Apart from writing for India’s most credible business daily (The Hindu Business Line) and providing policy inputs for the government, he has been speaking regularly at national and international conferences on a range of topics including Indian macro-economy, food and nutrition security, role of technology in agriculture, agri-infrastructure, commodities market outlook and so on.

Mr. Chandrashekhar has held and continues to hold many public positions. Currently, he is Economic Advisor, Indian Merchants’ Chamber and Director, IMC-Economic Research and Training Foundation. He is associated with several educational institutions. He is on the Managing Committee of S. K. Somaiya College of Arts, Science and Commerce (Mumbai) as also visiting faculty in many educational institutions (Great Lakes Institute of Management Studies, Chennai, VM Institute of Cooperative Management, Pune). He is Honorary Advisor to select trade associations including India Pulses and Grains Association and All India Liquid Bulk Import Export Association. He has been part of several government appointed committees and is closely associated with international bodies including Global Pulse Confederation (Dubai), US Soybean Export Council (USA), Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association, McGill Centre for Convergence of Health and Economics (Canada), ICRISAT and so on. He has been a ‘Resource Person’ for U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS-USDA), New Delhi for over 30 years.

At the initiative of the Union Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs, since 2011, Mr. Chandrashekhar has been spearheading a nationwide campaign to educate stakeholders about commodity price risk management. He was Consultant to World Bank for the World Bank-Government of India (ICAR) joint project – National Agricultural Innovation Project. He was coordinator of two international workshops sponsored by World Bank-UNCTAD and the Government of India on commodity futures trading, and wrote two reports for the government including one on Structured Financing and Warehouse Receipts System in 1998 and 1999. He was independent Director (public nominee representing the Government of India) on the Board of Directors of a few commodity exchanges.

As an analyst, Mr. Chandrashekhar systematically tracks, interprets and comments on economic developments in general and commodities sector in particular, covering agriculture, metals and energy. He closely follows the agriculture biotechnology sector. He was the only non-scientist in the Indian government’s first official delegation of scientists that visited USA in May 1998 to study agbiotech for the first time.

In 2003, for the first time in the country, Mr. Chandrashekhar conceptualized, designed and conducted training program for stockbrokers, commercial banks and trading houses to enter commodity derivatives market. He has been the lead faculty for this program under auspices of BSE Training Institute. He delivers lectures at several reputed institutions and B-Schools across the country.

Amith Agarwal is the whole-time Executive Director – and one of the founder members of Agriwise. An entrepreneur with the right blend of managerial and business acumen, Amith plays a key role in realizing Agriwise’s vision of integrated development of India’s rural ecosystem.

He is responsible for managing corporate tie-ups, legal and financial matters and business development activities at Agriwise. Under his stewardship, Agriwise has evolved into a market-leading brand, building trusted long-term partnerships and creating value amongst various stakeholders. He drives the human resource and leadership development responsibility in the company with a key focus on building a professional organization.

He is a sought after management professional in the areas of warehouse receipt and collateral finance and is known for creating unique channel partnerships in the rural finance business. He has established numerous successful relationships with leading financial institutions for their rural lending and financing business. Known for his flair and drive in driving relationships and deploying innovative ideas, he is driving the creation of a global mindset within the company. His dual experience of dealing with rural India and corporates alike is helping in bridging the information divide and modernizing the rural sector.

Amith has attended a Management Development Program (MDP) at Harvard Business School and holds an MBA from Mumbai University. He is a regular speaker at industry platforms like CII, FICCI, SEA, etc. where he explores emerging priorities in the agribusiness sector. An innovative thinker and visionary, Amith’s views are often published in leading Indian and international magazines.

Amit Goyal is the Non-Executive Director and one of the founder members of Agriwise. He oversees the Administration and Operations at Agriwise. He is responsible for operational and tactical execution in the organization.

He brings with him an extensive experience in the rural lending, collateral and financing sector. He has partnered with leading banks like ICICI Bank in their rural lending foray and created an ecosystem of robust lending mechanisms resulting in a zero-default track record.

Suresh Goyal is the Chairman & Managing Director of Agriwise, and one of the founder members of the company. A veteran in the field of agriculture, Mr. Goyal is responsible for providing overall direction and leading the company to achieve transformational growth.

Known for his vast knowledge in the field of agriculture, Mr. Goyal has over three decades of experience in running agriculture and farm related businesses like agri-financing, agri-procurement, commodity trading and warehousing. He has been closely involved in agriculture innovation and assist farmer communities in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat for increased earning.

An expert in the commodities sector, he has been associated with leading Indian and global corporate in advisory and consulting roles related to procurement, warehousing and stocking of agri-commodities. He has also been associated with leading Indian banks in agriculture and rural lending initiatives.

He was the winner of the “Inspiring Entrepreneurs of India” award by Dare magazine in March 2011.