Karun Chauhan

Self-employed at Self-employed (2019-01 – Present)

• Floriculture – Two Polyhouses (4000 square meters each) cultivation and management, open field cultivation, drip irrigation/fertigation, disease management, production, and sales (115,000 pots).
• Black tea – trading (3 Tons).

Agriculture Consultant (2016-03 – 2018-12)

• Consultancy to a Greenfield Coffee project for a Start-up in Papua New Guinea. 2018
• Consultancy to a 9000 Ha sugarcane enterprise in Zambia. 2017
• Training and project report completed in sugarcane in an integrated 9500 tcd sugar factory, 53-Megawatt power generation plant and a distillery in India. 2017

Regional Manager at NCT&S, NGIP Agmark (2013-08 – 2016-02)

Niugini Coffee Tea & Spice co ltd is a USD 12 million division of NGIP Agmark Ltd specializing in procuring, producing and exporting of excellent coffee from Papua New Guinea.

• Full responsibility to PNL, budgeting and bottom-line factors.
• Coffee purchases, inventory, sales, trading, productions and export.
• Contract negotiations and price fixing.
• Physical deliveries.
• Budgeting.
• QC - Coffee
• Organic, RFA and Fair-Trade certifications.
• Increased the gross margins from 1.6% to 38.5%.
• Improved the liquidity for coffee operations by shortening the cash turnover from 4 weeks to 2 weeks through strategic alliance with overseas coffee trading company and by negotiating advance payments for certain coffee buyers leading to advantaged cash turnover of approximately USD 1.3 – 1.5 million.
• Secured high export price vis-a-vis other exporters for native coffees internationally.
• Generated annual profitability of 11%.
• Achieved Zero Rejection Rate for all exported coffees.

Estate Manager, Sigri Estate at WR Carpenters & Co (2008-08 – 2013-04)

WR Carpenters & Co Ltd is a subsidiary of MBF Holding of Malaysia which specializes in growing, producing and exporting of tea and excellent speciality coffee.

• Operations - Plantations, factory, production, inventory, purchase and out-grower management.
• QC - Coffee.
• Budgeting.
• Weekly and monthly reports.
• HACCP and RFA systems.
• Successfully managed production of record volumes of over 85,000 bags of green bean.
• Redesigned the quality control systems for entire coffee division to sustain business of specialty coffee annually.
• Achieved zero coffee rejection rate post redesigning of quality control systems.
• Set records of historically highest yields for two consecutive years.
• Pioneered the implementation of HACCP and RFA program in Sigri. RFA at Sigri was taken as template for RFA implementation in other estates.
• Built a large warehouse to handle increased volumes.

Senior Assistant Manager, Elk Hill Estates at BBTC Ltd (2001-05 – 2007-09)

Elk Hill Estates is a coffee plantation division of BBTC Ltd specializing in growing and producing speciality coffees.

• Operations - coffee plantations and wet mills.
• Organic and conventional pepper operations.
• Budgeting.
• QC – Coffee.
• Organic and Utz Kapeh certifications.
• Timber logging, measurements and dispatch operations in 1,000 Ha of land area
• Won 1st prize for speciality coffees in cupping competition 'Flavour of India' in Boston, USA.
• Effected an operational cost savings of 16% annually.
• Achieved record yields in Organic production in plantations.
• Pioneered Utz Kapeh certification program for 8 plantations of coffee.
• Planted up over 100 Ha with coffee and pepper.
• Introduced drip irrigations systems.
• Installed machines for coffee production.

Assistant Manager, Anai Mudi Estate at BBTC Ltd (1998-08 – 2001-05)

Anai Mudi Estate is one of the Tea plantations of BBTC Ltd specializing in growing and manufacturing tea in India.

• Operations - Tea plantation and factories.
• Budgeting.
• QC - Tea.
• HACCP.
• Produced highest and second highest yields of tea within the company.

Diploma in Export Management – Indian Institute of Export Management (2002)

Master in Finance and Control – Punjab University (1998)

Master in History – Punjab University (1996)

Bachelor in Science – Government College (1994)