ICRISAT Welcomes Ramkumar Ramaswamy as New Director of Corporate Services

HYDERABAD, India—The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Ramkumar Ramaswamy as its new Director of Corporate Services. Mr Ramaswamy brings to the institute a distinguished portfolio, with over 25 years of extensive expertise in leading the finance function in large multinational and Indian companies.

A Chartered Accountant with a degree in Commerce, Mr Ramaswamy has held key positions across various sectors including consumer goods, chemicals, oil and gas, natural resources, and steel. Most recently, he served as the Chief Financial Officer and whole-time Director at Jindal Steel and Power, a leading publicly listed company. His distinguished career also includes leadership roles at renowned organizations such as Vedanta, Shell, Cadbury, and Unilever.

Mr Ramaswamy has a rich and varied leadership experience of working with multicultural teams in high growth business environments, leading business turnarounds, long-term strategy development, mega projects, large scale change management, organizational design and restructuring and digitalization initiatives. His finance functional experience and expertise includes corporate governance, risk management, funding and treasury, investor relations, project and change management, internal controls, ethics and compliance and driving business outcomes and impact.

Dr Jacqueline d'Arros Hughes, Director General of ICRISAT, welcomed the appointment noting that Mr Ramaswamy's proven track record makes him an invaluable asset to the ICRISAT team.

Mr Ramaswamy officially began his role as Director of Corporate Services at ICRISAT on 15 May 2024.

"I am delighted to join the team at ICRISAT, an organization renowned for its commitment to agricultural innovation and sustainable development," shared Mr Ramaswamy. "I look forward to collaborating with our talented team to drive forward our mission of improving livelihoods and ensuring food security across the semi-arid tropics."

ICRISAT welcomes Mr Ramaswamy and looks forward to a future of continued growth and innovation under his guidance.

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About ICRISAT

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a pioneering international organization committed to developing and improving dryland farming and agri-food systems to address the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation affecting the 2.1 billion people residing in the drylands of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond.