Prof Swaminathan

Chairman Emeritus

Action Against Hunger is delighted to have Professor MS Swaminathan as the Chairman Emeritus of our Board. Professor Swaminathan is a member of the Indian Parliament, an Honorary Chairman of the FAO Council and the Chairman of the National Commission on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security.Professor Swaminathan was the very first recipient of the World Food Prize, which he received for advancing human development through increased quantity, quality and accessibility of food.He has also received the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal for his outstanding work in extending the benefits of biotechnology to marginalised and poverty-stricken populations in developing countries. He has been honoured by the Government of France and has received the Ordre du Merite Agricole, for his services of the highest quality to the cause of agriculture 1997.

Mr. Ashwini Kakkar

Chairman

Mr Kakkar is the President of Mercury travels as well as being the President of the Association of Travel agencies in India. He is also a member of the International Board of INSEAD. Mr Kakkar received the National Order of Merit of the French Government in 2007, in recognition of his contribution towards the promotion of French/Indian relations.

“One in four of the world’s undernourished children lives in India. This reality is not good enough. This is not the India we want to be living in and it is not the India that we wish to pass to our own children. Let’s do something about it. Join Action Against Hunger and let us change this. Support our work and be part of transforming the current unacceptable reality. Together I believe that we can malnutrition a thing of the past.”

Mr. TCA Rangachari

Mr Rangachari is former diplomat and is also the former director of the MMAJ Academy of International Studies in New Delhi. He has held a number of posts in several continents during his career working for UN agencies and not for profits. He represented India on the boards of UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA.

Mr. Vipul Jain

Vipul Jain is the Chairman of the NGO catalyst for social action and Managing Director of Accelya Kale Solutions Ltd. Vipul is also a recipient of Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award in the outstanding category for the India Chapter in 2015 for creating a leading software product company in Accelya Kale and his passionate contribution to social sector.

Mr. Denis Metzger

In 1979 Denis Metzger participated in the creation of Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and became President of ACF France and served as Chairman of its International board from 2006 to 2010.He is also a Founding Member of the “Institut National pour la Simplification” (1992), of the “Appel pour le Combat de l’Abbé Pierre” (1994), of Droit d’Urgence (1995), and of Action Against Hunger India (2013) and he still acts as its Advisory Committee Chairman.Denis Metzger has had a professional career in merchant banking, working with JP Morgan (in London and New York), then with Charterhouse (France) as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman until 2000. Since 2001, he is the Executive President of Chequers Capital, a pan-European investment company.

Mr. Rohan Parikh

Mr. Rohan Parikh is the Managing Director at the Apurva Natvar Parikh Group. The group has a diversified presence in real estate development, logistics, shipping, education and hospitality.

Ms. Snigdha Sahal

Executive Director

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Snigdha has been working in the banking and development sectors for the past 15 years in organizations such as Standard Chartered bank, HDFC bank and Piramal Foundation. She brings strategic, governance and operational experience in both rural and urban centric projects to the leadership team.

Ms. Mamta Banerjee

Director, Finance

Mamta is the Head of Finance at Action Against Hunger. She is a cost and management accountant with nearly 25 years of experience in the field of finance and accounts. She has experience in different industries like media, retail, manufacturing, and non-profits. In the past, she has worked with organizations such as Magic Box Productions, Sankalp Retail Value Stores, Ginza Industries, and Magic Bus India Foundation.

Ms. Mousumi Gupta

Director, Advocacy

Mousumi is the Head of Advocacy at Action Against Hunger. She has a rich experience of working in the field of public health & nutrition and development for more than 12 years. She has a Masters in Social Work from Visva Bharati University. She currently leads the advocacy initiatives in Nutrition both at national and state levels, and directs to the policy, media and political advocacy campaigns.In her previous roles she has worked with Ministry of Women & Child Development, Voluntary Health Association of India, NIHFW, YWCA of India and CAPART.

Dr. Pawankumar Patil

Director, Technical

Dr. Patil is the Technical Lead at Action Against Hunger. He is a public health scientist with expertise in Maternal-Newborn-Child Health and WASH. He also leads the Research, Innovation and Design lab at Action Against Hunger.He has completed his Masters in Public Health (MPH) from University of North Texas Health Science Center, USA. He has previously worked with institutions such as Society for Eduction, Action, and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) Gadchiroli, India, Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programs (JHUCCP), and Community Empowerment Lab (CEL) Lucknow, India. Dr. Patil has led various public health projects, designing and implementing innovative solution toward solving various community health challenges.

Chaitrali Shirur

Director – HR & Admin

Chaitrali Shirur is an HR expert with keen interest in the space of learning & organizational development. She has 15+ years of experience in handling HR departments of large organizations and has done extensive work in the field of HR systems, training & development & change management. She has a unique talent to convince, negotiate and acquire buy-in from important stakeholders such as Promoter Group members & C-suite executives. She has facilitated many cross-functional projects which have resulted in driving efficiency & optimizing cost. She has also been instrumental in bringing new concepts to managing workforce thereby saving time & cost. She has lead & facilitated numerous L&OD initiatives delivering value to business and changing the culture landscape within organizations.

Aakanksha Pandey

Zonal Program Manager, North

Aakanksha has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Banasthali University and has also completed a Master of Social Works and a Bachelor of Law. She has previously worked with Save the Children and National Rural Health Mission. Aakanksha brings 13 years of experience working with government systems, providing technical support in implementation, assessment, planning, and monitoring of health and nutrition programs. She has been a part of the Technical Advisory Committee for the implementation of CMAM in Rajasthan in collaboration with the National Health Mission- Rajasthan. She is currently supporting the implementation of health and nutrition-related projects in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and has experience in implementing SMART and SQUEAC field surveys.

Rekha Ramakrishnan

Senior Manager, Finance and Accounts

Rekha comes with over 15 years of experience in finance and accounting in the social sector. With an MBA in Finance from Welingkar university and Masters in finance from SNDT university, she is well versed with various accounting, audit, legal and compliance practises for non-profits.