Our team
A passionate collective of innovators, entrepreneurs and industry veterans united by a singular mission: transforming agricultural waste into revolutionary biopolymers. Together, we're building a sustainable future backed by decades of expertise and visionary leadership.
Innovators United for a Sustainable Future.
Meet the frontline warriors in the war against plastic
Executive Leadership
Vishal Vivek
CEO & Co-Founder
Ex-Founder, Hemp Foundation — worked with 1000+ farmers, led 100+ SHG workshops. Awarded by Central & Uttarakhand Govt, HDFC Parivartan winner.
Previously built and ran an IT firm for 10 years, worked with Silicon Valley clients.
Alumni: MIT Bootcamp, Stanford SparkSeed.
Sundeep Kumar Tyagi
Co-Founder & COO
Ex-GM, Polyproducts Nigeria — scaled revenue from $100M to $260M in 2 years.
Led packaging ops at two billion-dollar firms.
30+ years in polymer science (HBTU Kanpur) with expertise in extrusion, compounding & biomaterials.
Priyanka Chauhan
Co-Founder & CGM
A management graduate from Graphic Era University, overseeing core operations, financial strategy, and HR policies at Ukhi. Known for streamlining processes and building strong internal systems to support scale.
Senior Leadership
Rahul Kumar
Chief Business Officer
A seasoned professional with a proven track record in Advertising and IT/ITES. As a Ramjas alumnus with two successful exits, he has creatively nurtured India’s leading FMCG brands through innovative, disruptive branding and ROI-focussed media planning strategies.
Gulshan Grover
CFO
Chartered Accountant with 22+ years at Ernst & Young India and Middle East. Led Japanese Business Service Desk and specialized in international financial compliance. Founding partner of Continuum Excellence with expertise in management reporting systems and strategic financial governance for manufacturing enterprises.
John Scott
Executive Director
Dorchester, England-based operational strategist with extensive experience in renewable energy, and engineering sectors. His expertise spans supply chain optimization & project management for multimillion-pound programs. John brings a global perspective and sustainable business growth expertise to Ukhi’s expansion initiatives.
Department Leads
Anupama
Director – Impact Communication
Former Executive Director of Transparency International India, with 27+ years experience in development, ethics and governance. Also worked with IBM Canada’s rural poverty alleviation project, supported by the Government. Recipient of the 2012 Global Development Network Award. Her expertise strengthens Ukhi’s impact and compliance strategy.
Pradip Pal
Design Lead
Digital Content maverick & strategist who scaled Trak.in to 5 million monthly viewers as co-founder. His stories featured in Forbes, TechCrunch & other leading platforms. Managed digital strategies for Cinépolis, PVR, Whirlpool. His experience establishes Ukhi as a thought leader in sustainable innovation.
Shashi Roy
Head – Communication
Serial entrepreneur and educationist with exceptional persuasive communication skills. His innovative sales methodologies have consistently delivered double-digit conversion improvements. Expertly translates complex sustainability concepts into compelling market narratives that resonate with both B2B partners and conscious consumers.
Board of Advisors
Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma
Co-Founder of Venture Catalysts
Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma is a leading figure in early-stage investment and startup incubation, serving as Co-Founder & Managing Director of 9Unicorn. With academic credentials from UC Berkeley, HBTI Kanpur, and a Ph.D. in Management, he combines deep expertise with hands-on mentorship. He is among the few certified professionals in incubation and early-stage funding actively shaping India’s startup ecosystem.
Anirudh Bose Mullick
Former Director, Peak XV (Sequoia Capital)
Anirudh Bose Mullick, former Director at Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital), is a seasoned startup advisor and founder of Founders Fellows.
Anirudh’s advisory role at Ukhi leverages his expertise in talent strategy, organizational design, and leadership benchmarking. His experience in guiding companies through rapid scaling phases will be instrumental as Ukhi advances its bio-polymer technology, expands its production capacity, and accelerates its global impact.
Dr. Tanweer Alam
Additional Director, IIP
Additional Director & Regional Officer of Indian Institute of Packaging (Ministry of Commerce & Industry). Board Member of World Packaging Organisation and Asia Packaging Federation. His expertise spans sustainable packaging, UN certification, and international regulatory standards. His distinguished contributions encompass 100+ research publications and pivotal roles in global packaging governance.
Avtar Monga
Advisor & Investor. Ex-COO IDFC Bank
Financial powerhouse with 30+ years in banking & financial leadership. Former COO of IDFC Bank, Managing Director at Bank of America (GDCE), and CEO of GE Capital Business Process Management. His strategic acumen and capital market expertise accelerates Ukhi’s growth trajectory and institutional partnerships.
Narendra Mehta
Chartered Accountant & Advisor
CA Narendra Mehta is known name in start-up world, having more than 50 years of experience in professional and financial market specially in MSME and startup sectors. Also Instrumental in mentoring and raising and arranging funds for MSME companies as well as for start-up companies. He is also academician having contributed in formulating syllabus for startup sector in ICAI New Delhi.
Prof. Vimal Katiyar
Professor at IIT Guwahati
Prof. Vimal Katiyar is a leading polymer scientist and Dean of R&D at IIT Guwahati, specializing in sustainable materials and bio-based polymers. He coordinates multiple Centers of Excellence, including CoE-SusPol and CoE-SusMat, and collaborates internationally as a visiting professor and senior fellow in Japan. His pioneering research bridges academia and industry in green polymer innovation.
Vipin Saxena
IAS (Retd)
Distinguished IAS officer and alumnus of Annamalai University and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade who reached Apex Scale before retirement. Former Principal Secretary Home, Member Board of Revenue, and Advisor to Governor of Maharashtra. His career spans critical policy formulation, regulatory oversight, and administrative leadership.
Hemant Tiwari
Executive Assistant to the COO
Executive Assistant to the COO, currently pursuing an MBA to enhance strategic and operational capabilities. Focused on streamlining internal processes and building efficient systems to support business growth and scalability. Experienced in cross-functional coordination across Purchase, MIS reporting, Finance, and Expenses, ensuring smooth internal operations and effective collaboration with external stakeholders.
Paras
International Sales & Strategy Manager
International Sales & Strategy Manager at UKHI is responsible for driving global revenue growth by identifying new markets, developing entry strategies, and managing overseas distributors. The role focuses on expanding international presence, negotiating trade agreements, optimizing pricing strategies, and aligning sales objectives with long-term business expansion plans to strengthen UKHI’s competitive position worldwide.
Apurv Kumar Thakur
Business Development Manager
25 + years of handful experience in Polymer Industries mainly in Polymers, Additives, Specialty Chemicals & Plasticizers. Catered Industries like Cables, Pipes, Footwear, Artificial Leather cloth and Film industries. At UKHI looking after Compostable Polymers Sales and Business Development in India.
Manoj Dhall
Research Associate – PHD
Research Associate at Ukhi India developing sustainable polymer blends and biocomposites, focusing on material formulation, processing, performance optimization, and end-of-life biodegradability. Previously researched PLA-based biopolymer blends at IIT Guwahati. MTech from IIT Patna specializing in thermoplastic elastomers. Over seven years’ experience in sustainable materials development.
Krishna Kumar
The Production Head
The Production Head at Ukhi leads material composition, sample development, and quality assurance for biodegradable and compostable products. They oversee formulation of biopolymer blends, create and test samples, ensure performance and compliance standards, and manage order preparation to deliver consistent, high-quality sustainable packaging solutions to clients across industries.
Vinay Katariya
The Plant Head
The Plant Head at Ukhi oversees end-to-end manufacturing of biodegradable and compostable products. They manage plant operations, production planning, machinery efficiency, and workforce performance while ensuring strict quality, safety, and sustainability standards. By coordinating teams and optimizing processes, they ensure timely, scalable, and consistent delivery of Ukhi’s eco-friendly materials to clients.