Advocacy Committee

Chairman- Mr. Rajat Banerji

Rajat Banerji is Vice President - Corporate Affairs at Amway India Enterprises, has been an integral part of the direct selling industry for over two-decades. In this period, he has been part of IDSAs thought-process, meetings with Central as well as State Governments, part of international delegations, media interactions and CSR outreach. He has been with Amway since April 2000 in a variety of roles - while the first five years at Amway were devoted to the Company's CSR efforts, he was Head Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility between July 2005 and April 2010. He has done his PGD in Journalism from BVB, Delhi. Prior to joining Amway, he was a journalist for eight years in Delhi [three years with The Statesman, Delhi and five years with Down To Earth - a publication from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)]. Prior to being a journalist, Rajat had worked in the Tea and Coffee estates of Tata Tea Ltd and Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation for close to three years, at Munnar, Tirunelveli and Coorg. A father of three (19, 15 and 7), he is an endurance runner who revels in overcoming severe physical challenges while on a trail-run, which includes ultra-runs at Ladakh and Manali, besides over a dozen marathons and many more. His Mantra on the run-and-work connect is that endurance runs help in better planning – with a contingency: prioritizing: absolute focus: to appreciate what one has: not to stop before the finish line: always to help stragglers (as one may be a straggler on a bad day!) and just to be in the moment.

Vice Chairman &WFDSA Board Member - Mr. Vivek Katoch

A 'Corporate Affairs Specialist' with over 18 years of experience in various domains including Corporate Relations, Government Affairs, Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibly, Corporate Taxation, Internal & External Compliance, Business Ethics, Public Private Partnership.Corporate mandate in current profile includes identifying & establishing strategic relationships with Dignitaries, Key Officials in Public Services & Government Departments, Members of Parliament & Legislative Assemblies at Centre & states. Current responsibilities also include harnessing partnership with important industry stakeholders for stability, growth & expansion. Strong legal acumen with expertise in representing the organization and the Industry at Government Department, Regulators and Supervisory bodies in effectuating policies conducive for the industry.

Vast experience in managing a challenging & evolving business environment with proven competency in resolving complex issues with endurance determination and persistence. Strong drive towards team building, networking skills and relationship management with all business stakeholders. Conceptualized, developed, and managed the organization's sustainability and CSR initiatives with the objective of promoting gender equality, women empowerment, girl child education and sustainability.

Currently representing the Organization at Key Industry bodies like Indian Direct Selling Association (Former Chairman, current Treasurer), FICCI (Current Chair- Direct Selling Task Force) PHD Chamber of Commerce (Patron Member) and a Board Member at European Business Group. Also representing the industry on various global platforms, holding key positions such as "Board of Delegates" at World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), and "Board Member" at ASEAN DSA President's Working Committee.

An avid reader, Vivek remains updated on national & global current affairs. When not working, Vivek loves to spend time with his children. Vivek finds inspiration in his wife and loves to travel around the world with his family, absorbing and learning different cultures.

Treasurer - Mr. Harish Pant

Harish Pant is Director & Head -Government Relations with Herbalife International India. Based out of New Delhi, Harish is spearheading Government Relations for Herbalife, representing the organization with Central & State governments as well as the local administrative authorities. Harish holds the key responsibilities of strengthen the organization's relationship with key government offices & policy makers and liaise with Government Departments at different ministries, Central & States alike. Harish works extensively with regional Trade Bodies, Industry Associations and relevant non-government organizations and other parties in the Direct Selling ecosystem. His expertise lies in handing organization's internal functions including key verticals like Legal, Taxation, Finance, Manufacturing, Communication, CSR etc.Having a master's degree in finance, Harish comes with rich & diverse experience of more than 30 years of in Corporate Affairs, External Environment Management, Policy Advocacy, Risk Mitigation, Government Relations, Stakeholders Management and Finance. Before joining Herbalife, Harish had a long and successful journey with leading FMCG giant 'PepsiCo' spanning over 20 years. Harish believes in having a holistic approach to address the modern-day corporate challenges. Harish loves to read in his free time to remain updated on the latest happenings across the globe. He loves to spend time with his family of spouse and 2 children.

Secretary - Ms. Aprajita Sarcar

Aprajita Sarcar is a dynamic leader with a valuable experience of 28 years across industries. Her forte is Business Strategy with emphasis on Innovation, Expansion & Engagement. She has been with Modicare for over 4 years and is currently heading the Growth Office, where she is driving strategy and high impact initiatives related to growing the company's business. Aprajita has worked on business process enhancements and has also been part of driving culture change in the organisation.

Aprajita has been on the Advocacy Committee of IDSA for the last 2 years and was actively involved in various industry initiatives.

A postgraduate from the Times School of Marketing, Aprajita has earlier worked across businesses of the Times Group, including the Corporate Strategy Group.

Aprajita has a keen interest in coaching and mentoring people to help them excel. She loves reading, travelling, music and dance.

Ms. Rini Sanyal - Director, Regulatory & Government Affairs, Herbalife International India

A Food Nutrition specialist and policy professional for15 years having expertise in the technical & legal regulatory affairs in Food, Retail, FMCG and allied areas.Deft in International Food Regulations such as Codex Alimentarius, Rini has worked closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and was an external consultant to Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and advised the authority on various strategic legal & Regulatory matters. She was also instrumental in drafting key regulations and was an active member in Harmonisation of Food Standards. Besides, being one of the lead consultants for undertaking training for various grades of FSSAI officials including the Adjudicating Officers on a pan-India scale, she has developed various training modules on implementation & enforcement of the Food Safety Act. As Head of regulatory, government and industry affairs for Herbalife, India, she is responsible for regulatory& policy advocacy, compliance as well as creating a harmonised legislative environment for the industry. She has started her career with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and before joining Herbalife, was leading the Food Practice in AmarchandMangaldas(a leading law farm of India), New Delhi.

Sameer Nair- Managing Director, Blulife Marketing Pvt. Ltd

Sameer Nair is the Chairman and Managing Director, Blulife Marketing Pvt. Ltd., A management professional with over 25 years of experience in various verticals of business including the role of an Entrepreneur and Senior Management positions in Nutraceutical, Contract Research, Finance and Direct Selling companies. Sameer's key expertise is in Establishment of Start-ups and Spin-offs, Diversification of International Business, Creation of New Business Ventures, Customization of Business Processes, Supply Chain management, Resource management, Crisis management, Strategic alliances in International business. Sameer has worked closely with talents across industries and strongly believes that any company or products are only as big and mighty as it's human interface, it is people who make all the difference.