Dr. A. Jayathilak from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of 1991 batch- Kerala Cadre is a post graduate in Medicine Surgery. He has been appointed as the Chairman of the Spices Board in 2011 and is holding the additional charge of the Chairman of the Rubber Board from September 2014. Prior to his appointment, Dr.Jayathilak held posts in Govt. of Kerala as Secretary & Director, Agriculture; Secretary, Water Resources Department; Director, Rural Development; Director, Personal and General Administration; District Collector, Kollam & Kozhikode; Managing Director, KTDC; Managing Director, Industries, and Sub Collector, Mananthavadi. He also held posts in Govt. of Chhattisgarh as Managing Director of the Tourism Board, and Commissioner, Finance & Excise.
Dharmakirti Joshi is Chief Economist, CRISIL Limited.
At CRISIL, his purview includes demand forecasting, assessing macroeconomic scenarios, and analyzing and monitoring the impact of macroeconomic domestic and external shocks on the economy. He has extensive experience in macroeconomic analysis and medium-term assessments of the Indian economy.
He was member of the Working Group of Savings for the 12th Five Year Plan. He is also a member of the industry monitoring group of Reserve Bank of India. He was the Chairman of Economic Affairs Committee of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and is currently member of Economic Policy Group of Confederation of Indian Industry and Indian Merchant Chamber. He regularly writes for leading newspapers and expresses his views on the economy in the electronic media.
Joshi has spent 26 years in economic research and consultancy. He spent 11 years at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) before moving on to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), New Delhi, and then CRISIL. At NCAER, Joshi worked on short and medium term macroeconomic forecasting using Computable General Equilibrium and econometric models, macroeconomic reforms and fiscal policy related issues. At CERC, he worked on regulatory, competition and tariff related issues in the Indian power sector.
Joshi holds a Masters degree in Economics. He has attended program on Macroeconomic Policy and Management at Harvard University and was a visiting scholar to Economic Research Unit of University of Pennsylvania.
Mr.Vinod Simon is the Executive Director of Simmco Rubber and Plastics (P) Ltd, Chennai. He is currently the Chairman of the Rubber Skill Development Council (RSDC) and the past President of the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA). Mr. Simon was a member of the Rubber Board of India and also currently the Chief Convenor of the prestigious India Rubber Expo 2017 (IRE 2017). The young and dynamic Mr Simon holds important positions in various organisations and has represented the Industry body in different expert committees in the Govt. of India. He is very committed and experienced in organising various important National and International expos and conferences. Championing the cause of the Indian Non Tyre Sector, he has made many presentations on different platforms both in India and Abroad.
Ms.Sheela Thomas belongs to the Indian Administrative Service and currently on deputation as full time Secretary General of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). The former Chairman of Rubber Board, Ms.Sheela Thomas had also held several important positions with the Government of Kerala. These include Principal Secretary to Chief Minister of Kerala; Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperation; Secretary for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs; Secretary for Modernising Government Programmes.
Mr. Juan Ramon Salinas is the Managing Director & CEO of International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers Inc, USA. Prior to that he has served as worldwide commercial and marketing director of Dynasol, an SSBR, SBS and SEBS rubber producer. He occupied several positions in Dynasol as business developing and marketing manager, logistic and customer service manager and technical service to customers and development manager. His work experience includes plant director at Resirene (polystyrene producer) in Monterrey, Nuevo León and project manager in Caterpillar Mexico and Grupo Cydsa (acrylic fibre division). He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico and Business Administration program from IPADE, Monterrey Mexico. Salinas has more than 30 years of experience in logistics, customer service, quality systems, project and process management. As a business leader, he is able to lead multinational teams, identify, develop/create and pursue business growth strategies. In addition he has international business knowledge and market intelligence.
Dr. Tran Thi Thuy Hoa had 26 year experience in research at the Rubber Research Institute of Vietnam from 1979 – 2004 as a Plant Breeder and Deputy Director from 1995 – 2004. She joined the Vietnam – France Project on Development of Rubber Cultivation in Highlands and the Rubber Research Sub-Component of the World Bank Project in Viet Nam – Agricultural Rehabilitation Project and Agricultural Diversification Project to support rubber smallholding development (1992 – 2004). She was selected as Secretary General of the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA) for 2 terms from 2004 – 2012. During these terms, she contributed several presentations to international conferences, workshops and magazines on Vietnam natural rubber industry development. She strongly promoted the relationships between VRA and relevant international and national rubber organizations to exchange information on rubber market and measures to overcome difficulties of natural rubber industry. She continues to serve VRA as Office Manager from 2012 to 2015 and as VRA’s collaborator in her retirement since 2016.
Dr Zairossani Mohd Nor is the currently the Deputy Director General (Research and Innovation) of the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) since August 2015. Prior to holding the current post, Dr. Zairossani was the Director of Technology & Engineering Division of MRB from 2011 to 2015. He leads and manages research and development (R&D) programs as well as technical support activities for the rubber industry.
Dr. Zairossani is presently leading several key national level research and development projects in rubber industry particularly in specialty rubber production and commercialization as well as green rubber products technology. He has more than 50 publications as well as 12 patents and trademarks credited to him to date.
Dr Zairossani holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Biological Engineering University of Guelph, Canada. He obtained Masters and PhD in Applied Science (Biochemical Engineering) from University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada . He also holds a certificate in Executive Business Management from the Asian Institute of Management.
Dr. Zairossani is currently the Chairman for ISO/TC 45 (Rubber and Rubber Products) and was elected to this post in May 2013. He is also a member of Malaysian delegate to ISO/TC 207 (Environmental Management) and ISO/TC 265 Carbon Storage and capture. He has served as the chairman of the Asean Consultative Committee on Standards and Conformity (ACCSQ) – Rubber Based Product Working Group (RBPWG) for the period 2011-2014. He is also the International Rubber Research and Development Board (IRRDB) Liaison Officer for Technology and End Uses.
Dr Lekshmi Nair is Head of Economics and Statistics at the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) based in Singapore. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of London, UK. Prior to joining IRSG in 2008, Dr Nair has research and academic association with the University of London, the Australian National University, Canberra and the Rubber Board of India. Dr Nair has over 15 years of experience in commodity research and worked extensively in the rubber industry. Under the IRSG framework she leads the Sustainable Natural Rubber Initiative, a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership project, to promote sustainability of the natural rubber value chain.
Mr. N. Dharmaraj, Chief Executive and whole time Director of Harrisons Malayalam Ltd., has been elected as President of United Planters Association of South India (UPASI) for the year 2015-16. Dharmaraj has over 41 years of experience in plantations business, working with companies like Brooke Bond, Unilever etc. before joining HML. Dharmaraj was Chairman of the UPASI Tea Committee and Chairman of the UPASI Commodities Exchange Limited. He was a member of the Tea Board of India. He was a founder Convener of the Golden Leaf India Awards (TGLIA). He is currently a Member of Tea Council of South India constituted by the Tea Board and also a Member of the Core Committee of the Tea Board of India.
Mr Mohinder Gupta, Managing Director of Vinko Auto Industries Ltd, Jalandhar is the present President of All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA). A seasoned industrialist, Mr Gupta has served illustrious innings in the rubber sector in India. Having set up an Auto rubber parts unit way back in 1965 in Jalandhar (Punjab), Mr Gupta has worked incessantly for development of rubber sector particularly in North India which today accounts for a significant percentage of rubber units in the country. Mr. Gupta is also associated with CAPEXIL, Rubber Products Panel, MoC, GOI, RSDC, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry etc in holding key positions.
Mr.Rajiv Budhraja is Director-General of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), the New Delhi-based apex industry body representing the Indian auto-tyre manufacturing industry accounting for over 90% of the country’s tyre production. Mr.Budhraja has nearly three decades of experience in industry bodies and had served organizations such as PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Confederation of Export Units and Indian Paper Manufacturers’ Association before joining the ATMA in 1997. Mr.Budhraja was a Member of the Rubber Board of India twice, representing the auto-tyre sector and also represents ATMA in several governmental and institutional bodies.
Sri. P.R. Muraleedharan is a full time rubber grower and a dedicated social and political worker hailing from Kottayam which is the most predominant rubber-growing district in Kerala. He has been actively involved with various farmers’ organizations and agricultural producer companies in various capacities as President, General Secretary, Project Director, Director of Marketing etc. Sri Muraleedharan has been a member of the Rubber Board, National Rubber Policy Committee, Pest Surveillance Team etc. Although a qualified pharmacist by training, Sri Muraleedharan now works as a farm advisor for various agencies in Kerala, Karnataka, Tripura, Manipur etc., in addition to his social and political engagements.
