Ranjit Baruah has over 42 years of experience, first as a senior tea planter and later as Consultant Manufacturing Advisor to McLeod Russel India Ltd. for all their estates in India, Vietnam, Rwanda & Uganda. He has also been a Consultant Trainer & Manufacturing Advisor for the BRAC Group of Tea Estates in Bangladesh. With proven skills in the art of quality tea manufacture, honed over the years under the expert guidance of Late J M Trinick, Esq., he has been able to introduce & impart numerous practical innovations in both Orthodox & CTC manufacturing processes.

A chemical engineer, M N Gogoi commenced his career in 1972 at the Regional Research Laboratory (now known as CSIR - North East Institute of Science &Technology), before moving on to Tocklai Experimental Station, Jorhat in 1975. Mr Gogoi was solely responsible for developing the project on Instant (Soluble) Tea which has since been commercialized – there are at least five Instant tea factories in operation in the country based on this process. He was the Department Head of Engineering and Manufacturing Technology (EMTD) at TRA Tocklai, and later headed its Quality Division comprising EMTD, Biochemistry and Tea Tasting Departments- a position held till the time of his retirement in 2005. He has since then has been rendering consultancy services to the industry in the field of tea processing and engineering.

Over 42 years’ experience with McLeod Russel India Ltd, Rajat Dutt possesses significant experience in areas encompassing Estate Operations, Global Certifications and Corporate Administration / Human Resource Development. As a senior Tea Planter with Group responsibilities he has guided and developed estates to improved productivity & quality targets. He is a Certified HACCP Lead Auditor & was instrumental in framing Rainforest & HACCP Food Safety Manuals for the Company. As Certifications’ Coordinator, he has implemented and guided Company estates through various sustainability accreditations. As Corporate Head for Administration & Human Resource planning, he has been responsible for all aspects of Human Resource development, including compensation & benefits, hiring, performance appraisals, training & development, succession & retirement planning. He is currently rendering consultancy services to the industry in India and abroad.

With over 35 years in the field of Tea Processing Machinery, Shyam Agarwal has served as an Executive Director & Consultant to leading Tea Processing Machinery Companies of India. He has driven numerous turnkey projects; to name a few – DRDA Kishanganj, Lattakoojan TE, Assam & many more. He has re-engineered the Khari Sifter, DCP & Auto Chasing machine, Micronizer for Tea Industry, machines more user friendly in the manufacture of Tea. He has also initiated joint R&D projects with TRA for DCP and Ozone application in Tea.

Dr Nibir Barpujari has a PhD in Soil Science with over 40 year’s experience in Tea Agronomy. He served with the Tea Research Association from 1979 to 2004, retiring as Chief Advisory Officer. He has since then, been rendering freelance agronomic consultancy services in the Tea Industry both in India & abroad, with special emphasis in Field Policy, Planning & Design of all field activities viz., Pruning and Fertilizer programmes, Crop Forecast, Drainage, Silviculture, Pest & Disease Management, Young Tea Management and cost analysis of agronomic practices. He also conducts SWOT analysis and training of human resource for all field operations.

R N Chatterjee is a Chartered Engineer & leading Water Technologist with over 38 years of experience in the field of Irrigation & Drainage. He is a recognised expert in the design of Water Supply Networks, Water Treatment Plants, River Pumping Stations, Co-ordination of Packaged Water, Ground Water Prospecting & Sustainable Practices on Water. He is an empanelled Consultant with the Tea Boards of India, Ethiopia, Kenya & Tanzania. A Visiting Consultant to leading Tea Companies in India & abroad, he is additionally, a Visiting Lecturer at the Indian Council of Agriculture & Research, Delhi and is actively involved with experiments conducted by the Tea Research Association, Tocklai.

An MBA & CFA, Samrat Agarwal started A 2 Z Tea Mach in 2013 and possessesrich experience in the field of Tea Processing Machinery. He has been instrumental in contributing to the expansion of business. His experience and advanced vision provides a strong backbone for A 2 Z group.He is a firm believer in the concept of Green power being the solution to Eco balancing. He is also a member of Federation of Indian Export Organization, Engineering Export Promotion Council.

Ms Smriti Bagri is an accredited Chartered Accountant (FCA) and Company Secretary. She has been providing freelance consultancy services in her core competency areas and this includes Internal / Statutory audits, Cost Management, System Implementations and training of upcountry accounts personnel on various Finance & Accounts procedures.

Aswin Bagri is an expert on matters related to International Trade, Import & Export formalities. He possesses rich experience in security /fund management in India and looks after export market of Tea.He is responsible for overseas business development along with managing, coordinating and executing foreign trade formalities.

Jayanta Jash is an accredited Chartered Accountant (FCA) with over 41 years’ experience, initially with AF Ferguson & Co., Indian Aluminium Co. Ltd. and thereafter with McLeod Russel India Ltd., retiring as General Manager Finance &Commercial with overall control of financial operations for 23 estates of the Company. He successfully guided and mentored estates in all accounting functions which included fund utilization, profitability review, operational improvement, cost management, financial analysis & planning. Core competency areas included Financial Planning/ Budgeting, Cost Control, Strategic Planning, Fund Management, Internal / Statutory audits, System Implementations and training of upcountry accounts personnel on various Finance & Accounts procedures. Mr Jash is currently rendering consultancy services in his areas of expertise.

A senior chartered accountant and fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has over thirty five years’ experience in tea industry comprising finance, general management, commercials, systems and logistics. He retired as vice president – finance of McLeod Russel India Limited. He was also the director of three tea companies of the group in East Africa, producing a combined quantity of 22 million kgs of tea. As director, he was responsible for overall performance and profitability of these companies. He has expertise in working capital management, project finance, cost and budgetary control. He has extensive experience in dealings with banks and financial institutions. He is proficient in treasury management and investments. He was in charge of the retirement funds in McLeod Russel comprising independently managed provident fund, superannuation fund and gratuity fund. He led the team set up for computerisation of the system in McLeod Russel and was responsible for designing financial and other systems. He has extensive experience in logistics, export shipping and documentation and interaction with transporters, suppliers and other logistic partners.

Mr. Dasgupta worked in various capacities with market leader J Thomas & Company Private Limited for forty years, and gained rich and varied experiences in areas of documentation, taxation and agreements connected with marketing tea through auctions and other avenues. He has rich experience in tea financing. He has considerable experience in matters of law, arbitration, financial market and capital market operations. He is currently a practicing advocate in the Calcutta High Court, National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata and a Legal Consultant.