ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terviva, Inc., an agricultural innovation company partnering with farmers to grow and harvest pongamia, today announced the appointment of two senior members of its executive leadership team — Simmarpal Singh as Chief Operating Officer and Manju Kohli as Senior Vice President, People Operations. Singh and Kohli will provide critical support as Terviva continues scaling its global pongamia production and pongamia bean processing technology across three main agricultural applications: food, feed, and fuel.
“Thanks to our partnerships with companies across a number of industries, 2024 is shaping up to be a major year for Terviva. Simmarpal and Manju both bring the kind of extensive, globally-focused experience we need to continue this period of growth and put ourselves in a strong position for 2025 and beyond,” said Naveen Sikka, founder and CEO of Terviva. “They share our commitment to driving positive impacts as a business without sacrificing the well-being of people or this planet, and they will make excellent additions to our team.”
Singh brings over two decades of experience to Terviva, previously serving as CEO-India for COFCO International, China’s largest food processor, manufacturer and trader, and prior to that for Louis Dreyfus India. At COFCO, Singh focused on rebuilding the company’s refinery-based India oils business, and the trading-focused grains and oilseeds business. He has extensive experience across African, Latin American, and Asian markets, including a long tenure in Argentina, where he built Olam International's vertically integrated, farm-to-factory peanuts and dry beans business. At Terviva, Singh will focus on strengthening the upstream and midstream processes to expand the footprint of Terviva and pongamia across India, the U.S., Australia, and other parts of the world.
“Throughout my career, I have always pushed myself to go beyond my comfort zone, which has helped me open new business segments and deliver strong growth and bottom line. Working with Terviva’s completely new commodity, pongamia, is a natural next step,” said Singh. “I look forward to leveraging my deep experience in farming, origination, manufacturing, and international stakeholder management to work in a new commodity value chain that directly contributes toward improving our global climate.”
Kohli brings over 20 years of experience in global human resources management to Terviva, spanning several different industries such as education, consumer goods, and digital media. She has led teams across India, the U.K., the U.S., and Singapore and worked with organizations such as Carlsberg and Pearson Education. In her role at Terviva, she aims to build upon Terviva’s vibrant culture and support the company as it scales across multiple geographies.
“I have dedicated a significant portion of my life to supporting the development of young children and women from marginalized communities. Terviva’s focus on uplifting women in India as leaders and pongamia harvesters resonated with my own values,” said Kohli. “These shared values are fundamental to a strong company culture, and I am ready to build on this foundation as Terviva continues to grow.”
The pongamia tree’s unique qualities make it particularly resilient to the effects of climate change, including its ability to restore soil quality, sequester carbon, and reduce the usage of water. Terviva produces valuable oil and protein products, including Ponova® oil, from a transparent and equitable supply chain, supporting local communities and farmers with new, reliable income streams.
With pongamia’s versatility to serve as food, feed, and fuel, Terviva has pursued strategic partnerships to scale its business. It has partnered with ALOHA, which uses Ponova® oil as a featured ingredient in its popular plant-based protein bars. After the success of an initial partnership to produce the special-edition Kona bar, the two companies expanded their relationship in 2024 to include a second special-edition bar, named Pa'akai. Terviva has also begun collaborating with Mitsubishi Corporation to bring crude pongamia oil (a low carbon-intensity biofuel feedstock) to the liquid fuels market, an industry first.
ABOUT TERVIVA
Terviva is an agricultural innovation company partnering with farmers to grow and harvest pongamia, a regenerative, permanent tree crop that stores carbon, revitalizes soil health, and has a history of reforestation. Through an equitable and transparent supply chain, Terviva transforms pongamia beans into sustainable food ingredients and bioenergy, which help to revitalize land and communities around the world. Learn more at terviva.com.
