Heifer International Appoints Four New Board Members

LITTLE ROCK, AR, Nov 13, 2023 – Heifer International announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors: Smriti Canakapalli, Brandi DeCarli, Tanja Havemann and Atul Satija. Their appointment brings the Board to 18 directors, who guide the organization’s strategic vision and represent diverse professional backgrounds in business, agriculture, academia and the private sector.

“We are incredibly excited to harness the passions and expertise of our four newest board members, who each bring valuable experience from relevant sectors to this work,” said Surita Sandosham, Heifer International President and CEO. “We look forward to their contributions in steering Heifer International’s efforts to support smallholder farmer families achieve a sustainable living income.” 

Smriti Canakapalli is responsible for strategy development, strategy execution and commercial capability building for Cargill’s animal nutrition and health businesses globally. In this role, her work spans over 45 countries and more than 50,000 customers. Prior to joining Cargill, Smriti was a consultant with Bain & Company, where she served clients in the areas of strategy, performance improvement and organizational redesign. She began her career with Dow Chemical, where she held progressive roles focused on engineering and operations. 

An accomplished entrepreneur and thought leader in the agtech sector, Brandi DeCarli is the founding partner and CEO of Farm from a Box, a cleantech-powered infrastructure for climate-resilient local food production. Brandi also serves as an advisor for the Climate Resolute Coalition, an alliance of public and private companies that tap into the power of global supply chains to accelerate progress in climate and gender goals, as well as serving on the Innovators Council for the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. 

Tanja Havemann is the co-founder and director of Clarmondial AG, an environmental investment advisory firm based in Zürich, Switzerland, with local presence in emerging and developing markets. With Clarmondial, Tanja develops and implements innovative financing solutions and leads advisory mandates with companies, investors, non-profits and governments on topics such as financing regenerative agriculture, climate and biodiversity finance, and impact investing. Tanja has also served as an independent advisor to the World Bank Group, UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

After 17 years of starting and scaling various businesses, Atul Satija started The/Nudge Foundation to do poverty alleviation work. Atul currently serves both The/Nudge and Give as CEO. Prior to this, Atul spent five years at mobile marketing platform InMobi as its Chief Business Officer, and as the Head of Mobile Business for Japan & Asia-Pacific at Google. He served as chairperson for the nonprofit EndPoverty, working on water, sanitation, education, skills development, sustainability and women’s empowerment. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Smriti, Brandi, Tanja and Atul to our Board of Directors, whose noted contributions to their respective fields make clear their value as partners in helping Heifer achieve our mission of ending poverty and hunger while caring for the Earth,” said Randi Hedin, Heifer International Board chair. 

Heifer International team members across the globe implement the Board’s values and policies and, in turn, help build inclusive economies that empower millions. At least one director lives in each of the international program areas where Heifer carries out its work. All directors are independent voting members.

About Heifer International  

Since 1944, Heifer International has worked with more than 46 million people around the world to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way while caring for the Earth. Heifer currently operates in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States, supporting farmers and food producers to strengthen local economies and build secure livelihoods that provide a living income. For more information, visit https://www.heifer.org/our-work/index.html