Speaker's Profile

Company Overview – Patanjali Foods Ltd.
Patanjali Foods Ltd. (PFL) is a publicly listed company with a market valuation exceeding USD 4.2 billion and a workforce of over 10,000 employees. Today, PFL stands as one of India’s foremost FMCG players with a diversified product portfolio spanning from PFL operates across diverse sectors including Edible Oil refinery, oleo chemical, soyabean n rapeseed (mustard seed crushing) Foods, Biscuits, Nutraceuticals, as well as Personal Care, Home and Dental Care, Oil Palm Plantations, and Renewable Wind Energy. The company has established a strong industrial presence with 26 integrated manufacturing facilities. These facilities boast a refining capacity of 12,000 metric tonnes per day, a seed crushing capacity exceeding 7,600 metric tonnes per day, and an edible oil packaging capacity of 12,000 metric tonnes per day, reflecting PFL’s significant scale and operational efficiency in the industry. PFL is a market leader in the edible oil segment and continues to strengthen its position in both domestic and international markets.

Professional Summary
With an illustrious career spanning over 27 years in domestic and international Multi Agri-commodity trading, risk management and supply chain leadership and solutions, Mr. Aashish Acharya brings unparalleled expertise across a wide spectrum of areas. His proficiency extends to Agri-commodity portfolio management in both global and domestic markets, strategic sourcing and procurement of edible oils and soft commodities, an advanced price risk management system using physical and derivative instrument, along with integrated large-scale logistics coordination, shipping, and chartering, as well as integrated operations management that seamlessly connects raw material sourcing with branded retail execution.

He is widely recognized as versatile & visionary leader, with the holistic approach to business transformation. He is consistently played a pivotal role in shaping industry benchmarks and influencing market dynamics, positioning him as a pivotal force in the edible oil Agri industry.

Mr Acharya also actively participates in international conferences and frequently appears on live television programs, interviews on retures, contributing to topics related to vegetable oil dynamics.

Key Roles & Responsibilities at PFL
At PFL, he plays a pivotal role in leading the Soft Oils GTU, heading the global trading for soybean oil, sunflower oil, and other soft oils, while managing approximately 1.8 million metric-tonne trade books across both physical and future markets, both domestically and internationally. His responsibilities span the entire value chain, including strategic sourcing, procurement, risk management, and supply-chain optimisation for six port-based edible oil refineries.

He directs global market intelligence initiatives, leading real-time market research and supply-demand analysis, along with closely tracking macroeconomic trends and commodity fundamentals that impact the edible oils markets globally. He also leads end-to-end supply chain operations, ensuring seamless coordination from procurement to packaging, while fostering close alignment with branded sales and marketing teams to synchronise commodity sources meet evolving retail demands.

ACHIVEMENTS
He stands out distinguished for his exceptional leadership in risk management, having successfully led a cross-vertical initiative encompassing 17 business units. This landmark project resulted in the development and institutionalisation of tailored risk management strategies and frameworks, which were reviewed and endorsed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), USA, a member of the World Bank Group.

Globally recognised as a top-tier trader/buyer and derived market trend strategies in the Edible oil sector (sunflower, soyabean oils etc), moreover, he demonstrates a rare and impactful ability to integrate upstream commodity sourcing with downstream branded FMCG execution seamlessly. His efforts consistently deliver both efficiency and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

He has been termed as a youngest professional heading veg oil tanker chartering desk, charter 125 veg oil tankers in a year and world leading buyer of sunflower & bean oil. Also, he is the second recipient (after the world fame-Shri Dorab Mistri) of the prestigious Shri Govind Bhai Patel Memorial Award 2022-2023 for his excellence as a ‘Sharp Commodity Analyst and Trader’.

His multi-dimensional leadership continues to drive PFL’s edible oil strategy on a global stage, positioning the company at the forefront of the evolving Agri-trade landscape.

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