Our Team

Our founders, mentors, advisory board and industry experts — the people who build, teach and shape Foodtech Pathshala.

Mr. Nilesh Lele

Mr. Nilesh Lele

Co-Founder

Food Tech Pathshala

Founder MentorsFounders
20+ Trained 10k+

A serial food-technology entrepreneur and MSME mentor with 20+ years across India and the USA. He founded Exelon Foodbio Advisors and co-founded FoodTech Pathshala. A chemical engineer (ICT/UDCT) with a US MS & MBA and CFA & FRM charters, he mentors food, beverage and agri startups and serves as Vice President of AFST(I).

Worked with

Dr. Umesh Kamble

Dr. Umesh Kamble

Co-Founder

Food Tech Pathshala

Founder MentorsFounders
20+ Trained 10k+

A food technocrat and first-generation entrepreneur with 15 years in food processing, licensing and food-safety training. Through Farm To Fork Solutions he has trained 8,000+ food-safety supervisors, and he is a Vice President of AFST(I) and a 2023 AFSTI-FSSAI National Award honoree.

Worked with

Yash Rajani

Yash Rajani

Founder, Karma Logistical Services (KLS)

Karma Logistical Services (KLS)

Mentor Mentors
10+

A passionate supply chain professional that wants to see more Indian brands kill it overseas. I have warehouses in USA, Canada, Dubai, UK and Netherlands that have helped launch several Indian businesses in overseas markets.

Hemendra Mhatre

Hemendra Mhatre

Walmart Vriddhi

Walmart Vriddhi

Mentor Mentors
10+

Experienced partnerships, product, and business development professional with 12+ years of experience across fintech, e-commerce, hospitality, and digital payments. Currently working with I2I Foundation on the Walmart Vriddhi Project, driving MSME enablement through onboarding, ecosystem partnerships, and capacity-building initiatives.

Mr. Shrihari Desai

Mr. Shrihari Desai

Founder | Business Consultant | Regulatory Compliance Expert

UK Installation LLP

Mentor Mentors

Mr. Shrihari Desai is the Founder of UK Installation LLP and an experienced business consultant specializing in regulatory compliance, industrial permissions, project approvals, factory licensing, Fire NOC, MPCB approvals, PESO certifications, BIS compliance, and land transaction advisory services.

Worked with

Dr. Harshal Kshirsagar

Dr. Harshal Kshirsagar

Head of Product and Applications

Ruby Bio USA

Mentor Mentors

Dr. Harshal Kshirsagar is a food ingredient applications and product innovation expert with deep experience in food science, nutrition, product development, and commercialization of novel food ingredients.

Worked with

Prof. Mukund V. Karwe,

Prof. Mukund V. Karwe,

Distinguished Professor

Rutgers University, USA

Mentor Mentors
35+

Prof. Mukund V. Karwe is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University, USA. He is an expert in food engineering, processed foods, extrusion, high-pressure processing, cold plasma processing, and advanced food technologies.

Worked with

Dr. Sagar Gokhale

Dr. Sagar Gokhale

Senior Scientist - R&D

General Mills (USA)

Mentor Mentors

A food engineer and senior R&D scientist at General Mills, with a doctorate in food engineering & technology from ICT Mumbai. His work spans food processing, mathematical modelling and Indian traditional foods, and he co-founded the beverage startup Ojman FoodBio.

Worked with

Kaushik Bhatt

Kaushik Bhatt

Sales and Marketing Consultant

Mentor Mentors

Seasoned business and sales consultant with 23+ years of experience across FMCG, retail, distribution, trade marketing, brand activation, and channel development. Combines deep corporate grounding with entrepreneurial execution to help organizations improve go-to-market strategy, sales effectiveness, trade visibility, distribution reach, and commercial performance.

Worked with

Mr. Sanjeev Sharma

Mr. Sanjeev Sharma

Food R&D Expert, Author & Co-founder

FoodTech Pathshala

Mentor Mentors

A food R&D specialist and bestselling author with 14+ years in multinational food-industry R&D. He co-founded FoodTech Pathshala and has written several widely used food-science reference and exam-prep books.

Worked with

Mr. Ritesh Mathur

Mr. Ritesh Mathur

Founder

F2F Food & Beverage Consultants

Mentor Mentors

A food technologist with 20+ years in R&D, new product development, food safety and QA across the food and QSR industry. With an M.Tech from UDCT (ICT) Mumbai and an MBA from NMIMS, he founded F2F Food & Beverage Consultants, offering end-to-end consulting with a focus on cafes and quick-service restaurants.

Worked with

Ms. Subha Nishtala

Ms. Subha Nishtala

Founder - Food Safety Consultant & Trainer

Food Adroit

Mentor Mentors

A food technologist focused on food safety, standards and regulatory compliance. Through her consultancy Food Adroit she advises and trains food businesses, with FSSAI-aligned training and well-regarded sessions on FSS regulations and food-recall best practices.

Worked with

Ms. Bhagyashri Mhatre

Ms. Bhagyashri Mhatre

Founder

Food Monk Consultants LLP

Mentor Mentors

A food technologist and food-safety consultant with 15+ years of experience. She founded Food Monk Consultants (Pune) and is a certified auditor and trainer across leading food-safety standards, also serving as Honorary Director of Food Technologies at Englobal Chambers of Commerce & Industries.

Worked with

Mr. Kaushal Dongare

Mr. Kaushal Dongare

Founder

Paawak (Jaggery Brand)

Mentor Mentors

An entrepreneur on a mission to move consumers from refined sugar back to traditional jaggery. He founded the 'Paawak' jaggery brand with the vision of building it into a global name in jaggery and jaggery-based products.

Mr. Vikas Patil

Mr. Vikas Patil

Food-Ingredients & Plant-Based Foods Professional

Mentor Mentors

A food-ingredients and FMCG professional with expertise in marketing, sourcing, new product development and FSSAI compliance. A Dairy Technology graduate (B.Tech) with a PGDBM in Marketing, he works across the food-ingredient and plant-based foods space.

Worked with

Mr. Ajit Kasar

Mr. Ajit Kasar

Food & FMCG Sales, Marketing & Distribution Consultant

Mentor Mentors

A sales-and-marketing professional with 25+ years across leading food/FMCG companies, now an independent consultant (since 2016) helping brands with distribution-channel set-up, modern-trade launches and brand activation.

Worked with

Mr. Prashant Naigaonkar

Mr. Prashant Naigaonkar

Founder - SME Finance Advisor

RampUp Advisory LLP

Mentor Mentors

A finance professional with 30+ years in corporate finance, fund-raising and treasury, now helping SMEs become 'funding-ready'. With a Master of Financial Management (NMIMS) and a background spanning IPOs, private placements and treasury, he founded RampUp Advisory LLP.

Worked with

Prof. Smita Lele

Prof. Smita Lele

Emeritus Professor of Eminence

ICT Mumbai

Advisor Advisory Board

A veteran food technologist with 40+ years in food science, Prof. Smita Lele specialises in fruit & vegetable processing, fermentation and food-process development. Emeritus Professor of Eminence at ICT Mumbai and former Director of its Marathwada campus, she is among India's most prolific food-science researchers and academic mentors.

Worked with

Prof. (Dr.) Pramod K. Raghav

Prof. (Dr.) Pramod K. Raghav

Pro-VC · Food-Technology Academic

Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women's University, Jaipur

Advisor Advisory Board

A food-technology and agricultural-processing academic with 19+ post-PhD years of experience. With a B.Tech from GB Pant University, M.Tech and PhD in Agriculture Processing from PAU Ludhiana, and US food-industry experience, he leads academics as Pro-VC at Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women's University.

Worked with

Prof. (Dr.) Prakash Kondekar

Prof. (Dr.) Prakash Kondekar

Hon. Director

Indian Institute of Naturopathy, Mumbai

Advisor Advisory Board

A veteran academic and naturopathy practitioner whose qualifications span homeopathy, naturopathy and Ayurveda, with a Royal Society of Health (London) fellowship. After agro-industry roles (1970-95), he has spent decades in academia and practice, lecturing and running health-management workshops across four continents.

Worked with

Dr. Prabodh Halde

Dr. Prabodh Halde

Head - Global Regulatory, Public Policy & Advocacy

Marico Ltd.

Advisor Advisory Board

One of India's foremost food-regulatory and public-policy experts, with around 30 years of industry experience. He heads Global Regulatory, Public Policy & Advocacy at Marico Ltd., has represented India eight times at the Codex Alimentarius, is a past national President of AFST(I), and has authored 16 books including the bestseller 'Accidental Food Technologist'.

Worked with

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