Agrizy, a B2B platform connecting agri-food processing units to large brands, has roped in S. Vijaya Kumar to play CEO, Wellness Business. This appointment is expected to help strengthen the operational agility of the platform even while expanding the impact of its offerings, and unlocking new values.
Vijaya Kumar moves to this agri-food tech startup from Botanic Healthcare, where he was group CEO since May 2024.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Kumar was a lecturer of chemical engineering at the Bangalore University from 1997 to 1998. He then worked as process engineer at Grasim Industries for a while before joining Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals as project engineer, from 1989 to 1991. The next three years saw Kumar at IISc as CSIR senior research scholar, chemical engineering. Then he went to Malaysia as senior research fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Malaya.
From 1995 to 1998 he served as academic staff, chemical engineering at National University of Singapore.
The year 1998 saw him begin a decade-long association with GlaxoSmithKline. He served as technical development manager, strategic process technologies for the first eight years before being elevated to head, engineering and technology centre, in 2006.
Vijaya Kumar served as regional head, Singapore, Novartis for three years, from 2008 to 2011. He spent the next two years as a senior management consultant for a management consulting MNC at Singapore.
He relocated to Hyderabad in 2013, taking up the role of vice president (R&D), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. Two years later he moved to Jubilant Life Sciences as senior vice president and chief of manufacturing, working out of Noida.
He was back in Hyderabad in 2017, when he accepted the role of president-operations, Aurobindo Pharma. After a two-year stint he moved to Porus Laboratories as chief operating officer. A year later, he switched to Centrient Pharmaceuticals, as country president and director-APAC.
Then followed a two-year stint with Biocon, as president-operations, from 2021-23.
From 2023 to 2024 he played CEO to Sami-Sabinsa Group. A year later he joined Botanic Healthcare as group CEO.
In his new assignment as CEO of wellness business, Agrizy, Kumar will be responsible for shaping the long-term vision and strategic direction of the division. His key responsibilities will include overseeing all aspects of business operations, driving growth initiatives, and ensuring that the company’s objectives align with its overall mission.
His expertise across the entire value chain, including greenfield project execution, technology transfer, continuous manufacturing, and regulatory excellence, positions him as a transformative force in the industry. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, he brings deep experience working with global regulatory bodies such as the US FDA, MHRA, TGA, and ANVISA. His leadership in areas like TPM, TQM, CAPEX management, and cross-functional teams reinforces his fit with Agrizy’s ambition to set new benchmarks in quality and impact.
Vicky Dodani, co-Founder & CEO, Agrizy, is relying on Kumar’s “expertise across the Nutraceuticals, Botanical Extracts, and Food Supplement sectors” to “help us strengthen the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance its leadership in the wellness sector”. Dodani is confident that “ Kumar’s long experience in driving operational excellence, along with his ability to navigate complex global markets, will be essential as we work to innovate, expand our reach, and deliver sustainable growth across our business.”
Vijaya Kumar himself admits,“I have closely followed Agrizy’s growth, especially as the wellness and agri-processing sectors have begun converging in impactful ways. Agrizy’s mission to leverage technology and supply chain intelligence to empower MSMEs and unlock latent potential in the value chain is what drew me to the company. I am excited to build on this strong foundation to create differentiated, high-quality offerings that will serve health-conscious consumers and growth-oriented enterprises. Together, we have the opportunity to lead not just with scale but with purpose and innovation.”
