Agri-value chain financier Samunnati Financial Intermediation Services has appointed former Unilever executive Badri Narayanan as its group chief executive officer.
Narayanan will transition to the role of Group CEO over the next six to eight months. He will succeed Anil Kumar SG, the company’s founder and current CEO who has been redesignated as managing director, the Chennai-based company said in a statement.
Narayanan comes with over 24 years of experience at Unilever and has expertise in general management, sales, marketing, digital commerce, and operations. He has a proven track record of driving success in emerging markets and leading global initiatives, Samunnati said.
“This elevation provides me the bandwidth to steer the organization’s long-term strategic vision and collaborate across the agri-ecosystem,” Kumar said. He added that with Narayanan’s appointment as group CEO, the company will scale "farmer-centric solutions" that enable growth for smallholder farmers.
The company is backed by venture capital firm Accel and Elevar Equity, among other investors. It posted a net profit of Rs 21 crore in the financial year ended March 2024, compared with a net loss of Rs 98.4 crore the year before, documents accessed by VCCircle show.
The company’s assets under management rose to nearly Rs 1,334 crore as on March 31 from Rs 1,117 crore a year ago. Its gross non-performing asset ratio improved to 2.4% as on March 31 from 5.9% a year ago.