CEOs, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Product Officers, Heads of Farmer Engagement and Heads of B2B Sales for agri-input marketplaces, farm-to-fork, warehouse-receipt, agri-fintech and precision-ag platforms in India.
Agri-Tech & Digital Platforms
Executive Search
30+ Agri-Tech Placements — typical mandates close in 95-120 days, with a 12-month candidate guarantee.
Specialisation withinAgriculture & AgriTech·Feeding the Future
India's agri-tech ecosystem — DeHaat, Ninjacart, AgroStar, WayCool, Crofarm (Otipy), Fasal, Cropin, Fyllo, BharatAgri, Ergos, Arya.ag, StarAgri, Jai Kisan, Samunnati, ApnaKlub, Bijak, FarMart, Gramophone, BigHaat, Krishify, DeHaat (for farmer extension), Absolute Foods (Upaj Farms), Reshamandi, Unnati, Kissht Agri, ProFarmer (Tata Neu), Mandi Trades, Gramheet, Innoterra, Nurture.farm (UPL), IB Agritech, CaseNext, Bhukharid, Vegrow, Freshokartz, Sproutlife, Falca, Sabziwala, Harvesting Farmers Network, S4S Technologies — services over 28 million farmers across agri-input e-commerce, output-marketplaces, farm-to-fork supply chains, warehouse-receipt financing, precision-ag-AI and agri-fintech.
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→An agri-input marketplace needs a COO to scale GMV from ₹3,000 Cr to ₹8,000 Cr through FPO / VLE partnerships
→A farm-to-fork platform requires a CEO to rebuild unit economics, integrate Modern Trade and launch private labels
→A precision-ag startup seeks a CPO to land satellite / IoT / AI-based input-recommendation and yield-forecast products
→A warehouse-receipt-finance platform needs a Head of Warehousing to scale from 1.4 MT to 5 MT and deepen pledge-finance partnerships
Our Agri-Tech Platforms Track Record
Situation:
An agri-input marketplace sought a COO to scale GMV from ₹3,000 Cr to ₹8,000 Cr through FPO / VLE partnerships.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate with agri-operations and rural-distribution pedigree in 92 days; GMV crossed ₹6,400 Cr in 18 months; VLE network grew 2.4x.
Situation:
A precision-ag startup needed a CPO to land satellite / IoT / AI-based input-recommendation and yield-forecast products.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate with agri-AI and B2B-SaaS pedigree in 88 days; NPS lifted from 28 to 54 in 12 months; enterprise-client count doubled.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our Agri-Tech Platforms Practice
India's agri-tech ecosystem — DeHaat, Ninjacart, AgroStar, WayCool, Crofarm (Otipy), Fasal, Cropin, Fyllo, BharatAgri, Ergos, Arya.ag, StarAgri, Jai Kisan, Samunnati, ApnaKlub, Bijak, FarMart, Gramophone, BigHaat, Krishify, DeHaat (for farmer extension), Absolute Foods (Upaj Farms), Reshamandi, Unnati, Kissht Agri, ProFarmer (Tata Neu), Mandi Trades, Gramheet, Innoterra, Nurture.farm (UPL), IB Agritech, CaseNext, Bhukharid, Vegrow, Freshokartz, Sproutlife, Falca, Sabziwala, Harvesting Farmers Network, S4S Technologies — services over 28 million farmers across agri-input e-commerce, output-marketplaces, farm-to-fork supply chains, warehouse-receipt financing, precision-ag-AI and agri-fintech.
The sector demands leaders who can scale farmer-adoption through hybrid online / retail networks, architect FPO / VLE (Village-Level-Entrepreneur) distribution, build warehousing (pledge finance, WDRA-registered), drive fresh-produce cold-chain economics and navigate the evolving agri-marketing / e-NAM / warehouse-receipt / DPDP regulatory stack. Gladwin places CEOs, COOs, Chief Product Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Heads of Farmer Engagement, Heads of B2B Sales, Heads of Cold Chain and Chief Marketing Officers for agri-input marketplaces, farm-to-fork platforms, warehouse / pledge-finance platforms, agri-fintech and precision-ag players.
As a specialist CEO mandates in agri-tech platforms, our practice also covers CPO placements in precision-ag, our practice also covers Agriculture & Agritech practice overview, and as a source for Agri — horticulture & fresh-produce exports.
The Agri-Tech Platforms Landscape Today
India's agri-tech market is estimated at US$24 Bn addressable (NASSCOM / Bain), with current revenue concentration around US$1.5–2 Bn and projected to grow to US$30–35 Bn by 2030. DeHaat, Ninjacart, AgroStar, WayCool, Crofarm (Otipy), Arya.ag, Samunnati, Jai Kisan, Ergos and precision-ag players (Cropin, Fasal, Fyllo) lead the segment. Warehouse-receipt financing, FPO-aggregation and fresh-produce supply-chains are the fastest-growing categories.
Key Leadership Challenges in Agri-Tech Platforms
Scaling farmer-adoption against legacy retailer / aggregator / mandi-trader networks with hybrid online-retail-VLE models
Driving unit economics on fresh-produce cold-chain (wastage > 15%), warehousing (WDRA compliance) and micro-logistics
Executing agri-fintech distribution — pledge-finance, kissan-credit-card integration, KCC augmentation, PMFBY insurance, agri-NBFC lending
Attracting Chief Product Officers and Chief Technology Officers from consumer-internet / B2B-SaaS / precision-ag hybrids
Managing multi-year capex on warehousing (Arya.ag, StarAgri, Ergos, NCML, Sohan Lal Commodity Management) and reefer-logistics (WayCool, Ninjacart cold chain)
Integrating satellite / drone / IoT-based precision-ag data into advisory, input-recommendation, insurance-claims and yield-forecast workflows
What We Look For in Agri-Tech Platforms Leaders
Across mandates, agri-tech platforms leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The Agri-Tech CEO
An agri-tech CEO with farmer-adoption-scale credibility, hybrid online / VLE model fluency and PE / VC-governance depth.
The Agri-Tech COO
An agri-tech COO with rural-operations / cold-chain / warehousing discipline, multi-state scale-up and P&L-improvement track record.
The Chief Product Officer
A CPO with consumer-internet / B2B-SaaS / precision-ag hybrid credibility and farmer-UX / input-advisory / marketplace-platform depth.
The Head of Farmer Engagement
A farmer-engagement leader with VLE-network-build experience, FPO-partnership depth and agri-extension / training-programme discipline.
The Head of Cold Chain / Warehousing
A cold-chain / warehousing leader with WDRA-compliance discipline, multi-site-capex command and pledge-finance integration depth.
The Head of Agri-Fintech
An agri-fintech leader with kissan-credit-card, pledge, embedded-lending and PMFBY-insurance-distribution depth and NBFC / bank-partnership credibility.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Acts (state-level); Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020 (partially repealed / under review); Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act 2007 with WDRA framework; Essential Commodities Act 1955; Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and FSSAI; Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWR) framework; Kisan Credit Card (KCC) guidelines; Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) insurance framework; RBI / NBFC regulations for agri-NBFCs and agri-fintech (Samunnati, Jai Kisan, Kissht Agri, NBFCs under Scale-Based Regulation); Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007; Drone Rules 2021 and DGCA Digital Sky for agri-drones; CIB&RC for pesticide-input marketplaces; Seeds Act 1966; Consumer Protection Act 2019 and Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020; Legal Metrology Act 2009; DPDP Act 2023 (farmer data); Companies Act 2013; SEBI regulations for listed / IPO-bound agri-tech; FEMA; DPIIT Press Note 3; PMLA for agri-fintech.
Compensation Architecture
Agri-Tech CEOs: ₹4–12 Cr fixed + STI + ESOP (VC-milestone-linked); COOs: ₹3–9 Cr + ESOP; CPOs / CTOs: ₹4–10 Cr + ESOP; Heads of Farmer Engagement: ₹2.5–5.5 Cr; Heads of Cold Chain / Warehousing: ₹3–6 Cr; Heads of Agri-Fintech: ₹3–7 Cr + ESOP; Heads of B2B Sales: ₹2.5–5.5 Cr; CMOs: ₹2.5–5.5 Cr.
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for Agri-Tech Platforms
Mandate experience covering CEOs, COOs and CPOs across India's leading farm-to-fork agri-tech platforms, agri-fintech challengers and precision-agriculture SaaS operators
Deep coverage of Chief Technology Officers, Heads of Engineering and Heads of Data / AI for precision-ag and agri-fintech platforms
Executive-search expertise for Heads of Farmer Engagement, Heads of Rural Distribution and Heads of FPO Partnerships
Strong track record placing Heads of B2B Sales, Heads of Modern Trade and Heads of HoReCa for farm-to-fork platforms
Leadership talent for Heads of Warehousing and Pledge Finance across agri-warehousing and post-harvest-finance platforms
Confidential mandates at corporate-backed agri-tech platforms within listed Indian agri-input and conglomerate groups
Board and advisory-director searches for PE and VC-backed agri-tech platforms
Organisations We Serve
Farm-to-fork agri-tech platforms operating integrated procurement, processing and distribution
Precision-agriculture SaaS and IoT platforms serving farmers and FPOs
Agri-warehousing and post-harvest finance platforms operating WDRA-registered networks
Agri-fintech platforms serving farmer credit, input financing and FPO working capital
B2B agri-marketplaces and HoReCa-focused fresh-produce supply-chain platforms
Corporate-backed agri-tech platforms within listed Indian agri-input and conglomerate groups
Direct-to-farmer commerce and rural-distribution platforms
PE / VC-backed agri-tech challengers across upstream, midstream and downstream segments
Agri-Tech Platforms leaders assessed on the Agriculture “HARVEST” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for agriculture and agritech leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for agri-tech platforms mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Agriculture & AgriTech
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