Monsanto India announced the appointment of Dr Gyanendra Shukla as Managing Director of the Company effective March 1, 2013. He will be replacing Mr Amitabh Jaipuria.

A 24-year agriculture sector veteran, Dr Shukla has served successfully in varied roles of increasing responsibility spanning Technology Development, Regulatory, Sales & Customer Service, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs across the India and Asia-Pacific regions and was also Country Manager of the Monsanto Company's business in Indonesia. Prior to joining Monsanto, Dr Shukla worked in Ciba-Geigy (now Syngenta) and Hoechst (now Bayer CropScience) in Technology Development roles focusing on development of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Dr Shukla was named 'Fellow of Indian Society of Weed Science' in recognition for his contributions to farmers and the industry, among receiving numerous other external and internal recognitions. He also represents the Company to the National Seed Association of India (NSAI), Association of Biotech-Led Enterprises - Agriculture Group (ABLE-AG), and industry chambers. Dr Shukla holds a Bachelor's degree in agriculture and animal husbandry from G. B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, a Ph.D. in Agriculture Botany from Kanpur University, and an MBA from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research in Mumbai.

Mr Jaipuria had joined Monsanto India Ltd (MIL) in November 2007 and over the past five years, he is credited with the significant growth of the herbicide business, steering the corn business through a period of transition, relentlessly focusing on costs, creating industry-leading customer connect platforms, and for having helped nurture and build a strong talent pipeline.