AID BY TRADE FOUNDATION COTTON CONFERENCE

Shri Lalit Kumar Gupta, presently Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has enrich experience of 30 years in the Textile Industry and having an excellent academic records being Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary and MBA (Marketing).

Before CCI, he served for two years in private sector. In CCI, he has worked in Procurement and Sales Branches. Since 2006 he has been working at Corporate Office of CCI at Navi Mumbai. He worked in multiple capacities in Marketing, Finance, Internal Audit, Company Secretary and Coordination divisions.

Shri Lalit Kumar Gupta had been Member of number of committees. He is also an Executive Board Member of SCOPE, which is an Apex body of CPSEs.

Over all 25 plus years of experience in spearheading strategic business operations with hands-on experience in, Category Management, Client Relationship, Sustainable Material Development, Livelihood enhancement in Sustainable agriculture for small holders, Product Development & Merchandising.

With 15+ years of experience with IKEA in Sustainable Raw Material Programme, Project Management, Budget Management, Material Traceability Audit and Development, Grant Management & People development in creation of Sustainable supply chains. Structuring the Material Specification & Working Method standard review groups at IKEA. Trainer for Textiles and Sustainable Material. Working with Traceability of Cotton and developing the traceability agenda across the supply chain.

Arindama Banerjee is with LRQA as Associate Director- Client Services based in India. She works with clients to help them shift from reactive to proactive when managing and monitoring their supply chains. Previously, Arindama was the lead for Tesco’s Responsible Sourcing program in India and Sri Lanka. She shaped the strategy and developed the team to implement the strategy. She brings together a well-rounded experience of working with suppliers, brands, factories, NGOs and auditing bodies. Beyond monitoring programs, she has contributed to many social supply chain initiatives, including financial literacy, worker health and wellbeing and implementing grievance mechanisms. Her extensive experience gives her unique perspective to design pragmatic solutions for complex supply chain issues creating win-win for all stakeholders.
Arindama holds an Engineering degree in Fire Technology and Industrial Safety. She was the first female Safety Officer at an Indian factory. She is actively involved in enhancing social entrepreneurship and social responsibility programs in India and frequently serves as a guest lecturer.

With a career spanning over 35 years in the retail business, Mr. Torsten Stau worked in diverse roles in purchasing and category management functions. Beginning with key positions at the two hypermarkets chains Wertkauf and Wal*Mart Germany and continuing at Metro Cash&Carry, Torsten Stau has been an integral part of the REWE Group since 2007. Serving as the Executive Buying Director for Non-Food and Indirect Spend since 2010, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's procurement strategies in this segment. Moreover, Torsten Stau has held the position of Chairman of the Board at REWE Far East Ltd since its establishment in 2012, overseeing the expansion of the company's procurement offices to five.

Daniela earned her Doctorate from the University of Bonn and Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, focusing on climate-smart agriculture in Ethiopia. Her research covered ecological sanitation, waste management, food security, climate change adaptation, and carbon sequestration in agricultural soil. This academic journey deepened her connection with nature, inspiring a commitment to advancing climate action. Daniela, now a Senior Consultant at sustainable AG, specializes in supplier engagement and impactful decarbonization strategies for clients engaged in land-based activities, integrating climate strategies, reduction scenarios, and regenerative agriculture projects. Her passion lies in addressing the environmental impact of agricultural production through sustainable solutions.

Dr Kranthi is the Chief Scientist at the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Washington DC. Before joining the ICAC, he was the Director of the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) Nagpur, India from 2008 to 2017. Dr Kranthi has thirty-two years of experience as cotton scientist. He received gold medal in Ph.D. in 1991 and several Awards including the ICAC Researcher of the Year Award in 2009; ICAR Award for Leader of best team research 2006; Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural sciences 2009; Plant Protection Recognition Award 2016 by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Suresh Kotak World Cotton Award 2023. He has patents in five countries, with commercialized technologies that earn royalties. He published more than 100 peer reviewed research papers; 15 books/handbooks/manuals; 17 Book Chapters and more than 50 popular articles. Dr Kranthi presented papers, invited talks and trainings in more than 30 countries. He was the principal coordinator/investigator for 25 global funded research projects.

Adam's passion for agroecology emerged 15 years ago, while volunteering on farms in New Zealand. During graduate school, he developed a vision to help address numerous global challenges by restoring soil ecosystems. He spent several years as a Postdoctoral Researcher and University Instructor, teaching courses on food security, restoration ecology, and environmental science. Adam has contributed to more than 20 research publications, linking plant-microbial symbioses with enhanced nutrition and holistic soil health. He joined The Soil Food Web School in 2021, following his dream to help regenerate soils, improve human nutrition, and enjoy the splendor of our living planet.

Arun Nayar is responsible for the management and strategic direction of Direction Software LLP where he oversees all aspects of the company's operations and guides its long-term vision. Prior to co-founding Direction in January 1999, Mr. Nayar played a pivotal role in the establishment and rapid growth of one of India's fastest-rising mail order company in the mid-1990s. He holds directorships in numerous other companies, encompassing both established multinationals and dynamic start-ups. Arun holds a Master’s degree in Physics from Imperial College, London and is fluent in English, German, and Italian.

Sanjay Gupta with 37 years of experience in the software industry, holds a MBA in Marketing and serves as a Chief Operating Officer of Direction, Sanjay is directly responsible for the management, growth and success of Direction’s technology operations.

During his tenure, Sanjay has significantly developed and contributed in Direction’s inhouse Products. He is leading along with his team in providing operational efficiency, steering strategic growth, and excelling in global delivery. Accomplished in driving organizational success through a combination of operational excellence and strategic foresight.

Holding a degree in international commerce from the Paris Chamber of Commerce, Jean-Claude Talon has more than 30 years of experience in the cotton sector.

In 1995, he assumed the position of managing director of ICB (Industrie Cotonnière Béninoise); in 2000, he was named manager of sales and logistics at ICA (Industrie Cotonnière Associée).

In 2017, he joined SODECO (Société de Développement du Coton) as its sales and logistics manager.

Since 2017, as a member of AFCOT, Mr Talon has played a key role in developing the sales strategies that enabled Benin to become the region’s leading cotton producer in 2018.

He is currently serving as a special adviser to the managing director of SODECO.

Peter was born just outside of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, with Liverpool being the home of Cotton for England. Starting on his career, Peter joined the company “Associated Surveyors and Test Laboratories Co., Ltd”, in Thailand where he continued to learn the art of cotton controlling. After three years in Thailand, Peter was invited to take up the position of Manager in the Taiwan office of Edward T. Robertson & Son, and then subsequently he took up the position on European Manager for the same company. In 1993, a major change happened, which resulted in the purchase of parts of “Edward T Robertson & Son”, thus forming a new company Wakefield Inspections Services, which Peter assumed the position of Group Managing Director. On completion of his term as President of the ICA in 2006, Peter re-located to Shanghai where he also looks after the companies interests in China and Asia. With travel being restricted from early 2020, Peter moved to Taipei from where he is currently based.

Agricultural engineer by training, agroeconomics option. Haissata is a former area manager in a cotton company where she supervised more than ten thousand cotton producers before leading the project to implement the CmiA label in her company. Today, she is a technical manager at APROCOT-CI and Secretary of the Cotton Quality Commission of Côte d'Ivoire.

Stefan Scherer, Aerospace Engineer, founder and CEO of Geocledian, has 30 years of working experience in the fields of crop monitoring with remote sensing, EU agriculture subsidies management, software development and entrepreneurship. 1998 he was one of the founders of RapidEye (now Planet-Labs), the first commercial high-resolution satellite monitoring system for agriculture. He subsequently worked for main industry players in Geospatial System Design. In 2013 he founded Geocledian, a company focussing on agricultural data analytics leveraging geospatial technologies, remote sensing and AI. It operates the crop monitoring platform Ag|Knowledge supporting sustainability standards implementation for cotton and other crops.

Inka Sachse has been supporting international food and textile supply chains in their production, marketing and sustainability efforts for more than twenty years. After working a year on Irish farms, Inka studied organic agriculture at the University of Kassel, Germany. While spending a year with the ERASMUS programme at the university of agronomy in Perugia, Italy she gained insights into farm inspection and certification at the organic farming association AIAB Umbria. Following her diploma, she supported organic advocacy and lobby work with the networking organization IFOAM- Organics International in Bonn. She supported European importers, wholesalers, processors and farmer’s cooperatives as sales, sourcing, purchasing, quality and troubleshooting agent with the organic trade agency artebio in Lüneburg. Later she organized stakeholder educational and networking events, as well as sector studies around organic plant and animal production and -markets in Central and Eastern Europe for the NGO EkoConnect in Dresden. From 2014 onwards she has been supporting international supply chain actors on their strategy development for on- farm sustainability, especially regarding soil health and fertility, as well as doing holistic sustainability assessments and setting up GHG emission reduction and soil carbon sequestration projects for the private consultancy company Soil & More Impacts, later named sustainable AG in Hamburg. After nearly two years of common projects, Inka has started working directly for the Aid by Trade Foundation in July 2023 in order to further deep dive into sustainable farm impacts in smallholder environments. Inka speaks multiple languages and has been active in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. She loves working with farmers and sees her vocation in the integration of people, skills and knowledge as well as in the promotion of sustainable and innovative practices in the agricultural sector worldwide.

Ranga Nathan NS is the Vice President of Customer Success at TextileGenesis. He leads Project Delivery and Implementation for the traceability initiatives of all Brands who are engaged with TextileGenesis. Ranga has more than 25 years of experience across Technology, Traceability and Communications. An MBA from University of Oxford, he has worked with international organizations like IBM, Tata Consultancy Services and Ogilvy Advertising.

Mr. Alais Ole-Morindat is a Maasai Elder, Trainer, Researcher and Facilitator with significant experience in Rural Development as well as Climate change. He has worked in the environment and development field in Tanzania for more than 35 years. Currently, he is the ACTIVE Program Director at African People and Wildlife (APW). Prior to his role with APW, amongst others, he served as a program advisor to the project ‘Strengthening Communities’ Voices in Shaping Policies for Sustainable Environmental Management and Poverty Reduction in the Drylands of Tanzania’.Mr. Morindat has numerous certificates in Projects Planning and Management and special trainings on climate change, conservation and environment, Rangelands and drylands ecosystems (America).

Shivani Gupta is a Senior Project Lead at TextileGenesisTM – a pioneering fiber-to-retail traceability platform, enabled by blockchain, for the fashion and textile supply chain.
With a degree in Fashion Technology from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai, and certifications in Systems Thinking from the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Sustainable Fashion from the Copenhagen Business School, she is an experienced project manager with a proven record of successfully leading cross-functional teams to deliver high impact projects on time. Adept at strategic planning and fostering collaboration to achieve project goals, she is known for effective communication and problem solving skills, ensuring seamless project execution. She is dedicated to continuous improvement and achieving optimal outcomes in dynamic environments.
Outside of work, she loves travelling and might be planning her next trip as we speak.

Jyoti Rupa Pujari is a Junior Agriculture Advisor at GIZ India managing the global project ‘Sustainability and Value Added in Agricultural Supply Chains’ | Cotton, Tea and Spices. As a project management professional, Jyoti has a proven track record of building diverse stakeholder networks, streamlining business operations, and spearheading research and knowledge management initiatives across a range of fields. She has expertise in livelihood development, social protection programmes, sustainable agriculture, policy advocacy, social accountability practices, and UN SDGs.

Mr. Lalit Mahajan started his career in 1988 with Vardhman Textiles Limited. He has overall experience of 36 years in Textile industry in versatile functional areas where he has looked after Commercial functions, Sales and Marketing of Yarn, Garment Manufacturing, Procurement of cotton & other fibres and finally textile by-product sales.
He is now working with Welspun Living Limited as Senior Vice President looking after procurement of Cotton, Yarn and Fabric.

Mr. R.R. Vinod has vast experience of about 27 years in Cotton Procurement and he has exposure to all world cotton growths and sustainable fibres. He started his career in Cotton with Leading Fine Fabric & Denim manufacturer Arvind Ltd. He was then heading Cotton Strategy & Procurement at the leading home textile company, Welspun India Ltd. RR Vinod is now associated with Sintex Industries which is the part of the larger Reliance group since 2022 as President Raw Material Procurement. He leads a team which is responsible for sourcing Natural fibres, Cotton and Flax. He believes AI needs to be woven into the textile processes and that surely will be transformative.

Rajan Bhopal leads PAN UK’s engagement with global supply chains with a focus on reducing harms from pesticides and promoting agroecological practice in cotton, cocoa and coffee. He has experiencing managing large-scale programmes supporting smallholder cotton growers and develops practical tools and training resources to promote ecologically sound pest management across the sector and within PAN UK’s programmes in Benin and Ethiopia. Rajan is a representative of civil society on the Better Cotton Council.

My name is Serge C. Danhounsi. I received an agricultural engineering degree with specialisations in economics and rural sociology from the University of Parakou in Benin in 2007 and a master’s degree in development, environment, and society from the University of Liège in Belgium in 2015. My professional responsibilities include managing the physical and financial flow of the cotton sector in Benin with the objective of ensuring that the ginneries have sufficient capacity and facilitating a prompt payment for delivered cotton to producers. I work closely with producers to implement sustainable agricultural practices in order to avoid jeopardising the future of cotton production in a world facing accelerating climate change.

Aanchal Bajwa has a diverse portfolio in the entertainment industry as a TV Presenter, Corporate & Lifestyle Emcee, and Actor. As a TV Presenter, she has graced the screens of Pro Kabaddi League on Star Sports and the Global Poker League on Colors Infinity, showcasing her dynamic presence and engaging hosting skills.
A recipient of two Gold awards at the BW Applause Experiential Marketing Awards, Aanchal's excellence shines through as she was recognized as the Best Emcee Private & Social Events and the Most Stylish Emcee. In addition to her hosting talents, Aanchal has also left her mark in the world of acting, starring in TV commercials for prominent brands.