Nihal Vijaya Devadas Kaviratne, CBE

Nihal Vijaya Devadas Kaviratne, CBE
Independent Non-Executive Director

Date of Appointment as Director: 1 October 2014

Mr Nihal Kaviratne CBE’s career with the Unilever Group spanned 40 years during which he held various senior level management positions in sales, marketing, brand and strategic planning and development, and as Chairman/CEO across Asia, Europe and Latin America. He retired from Unilever in 2005. Mr Kaviratne was cited in HM Queen Elizabeth II’s 2004 New Year Honours List in the UK and has been made the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to UK business interests and to sustainable development in Indonesia. He was one of “25 leaders at the forefront of change” chosen by Business Week in 2002 for the Stars of Asia Award. In its year end 2010 issue, Forbes India listed him as one of the “5 top names to have on your Board”. He was awarded for driving “Business Excellence” at the World Business Conclave 2016 in Hong Kong. Mr Kaviratne brings with him extensive organisational, business, management, strategic planning and customer-based experience and knowledge.

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News from across the group

21^st Dec, 2020

Press release

Olam Food Ingredients heats up Spices portfolio with US$108.5 million acquisition of a leading US chile pepper business

Acquisition is on-trend to support rising consumer demand for Mexican flavors Singapore Olam Food Ingredients (“OFI”), the new operating group created after the reorganization within Olam International Limited (“OIL”) earlier this year, is expanding its Spices portfolio (“Olam Spices”) to meet the rising demand for bold, authentic flavors with the acquisition of one of the world’s leading suppliers of premium green chiles, jalapeños and enchilada sauces. OIL, through its subsidiary, Olam Americas, Inc. has agreed to acquire the US-based chile pepper business (“CPB”) of major maker of condiments and sauces, Mizkan America, Inc. (“Mizkan”), for US$108.5 million. This is the first major acquisition for OFI after the reorganization and is in line with its strategy to provide customers with on-trend food products and sustainable, natural, value-added ingredients and solutions. Based in Deming, New Mexico, CPB is renowned for its high-quality New Mexico green chiles as well as other spec

2^nd Nov, 2020

News

Launch of digital initiative will strengthen support and engagement with rural communities in Republic of Congo

Operating in the north of the Republic of the Congo, Congoalise Industrielle des Bois has been present in the region since 1968. The Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability team of CIB have immense knowledge about the region. Every week they go out on the field to sensitise the communities and indigenous populations on various themes pertaining to health, safety, rights, and family related issues. Earlier this year, we launched Project OKA, where audio related to various topics was recorded in Lingala and Mbengele in questions-answers format, and saved in devices for the communities to listen. However, there is a human element in these visits that no device or technology can replace. When the members of the social teams return, they report their observations over discussions or emails to the team. This deep understanding of the region is always supported with pictures, videos, audio interviews. However, this fragmentation of the knowledge, and the loss in narrative when the emplo

18^th Dec, 2020

Blog

Digital Tech Empowers Ghanaian Cashew Farmer

Olam Direct purchasing app adds funds and cuts expenses. An estimated 5,400 Ghanaian smallholder farmers are receiving better prices on their 3,100 tons of cashew thanks to Olam’s direct purchasing app Olam Direct. The app also benefits customers by providing greater traceability for their purchasing. Developed in-house, Olam Direct is one part of a robust, proprietary solution which offers a variety of apps and tools to not only provide greater transparency on pricing, but access to agri-inputs and farming advice like better fertiliser use and insights on efficient land use to fight climate change. The app is empowering farmers to get prices directly from Olam rather than from the traditional buying agents, which yields not only higher prices for their cashew but cost savings on their expenses, as Olam manages “last mile” collection. This can have significant impact on farmers and their communities: if the average daily food budget for a typical Ghanaian household was is 14-15

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