With over three decades of leadership experience, Upma Goel is a Chartered Accountant and IICA-certified Independent Director. She brings a rich experience in the BFSI sector across leading organizations including Piramal Enterprises, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, and L&T Finance Holdings

StarAgri, India’s largest integrated agritech company, has appointed Upma Goel as Non-Executive Independent Director on its Board, reinforcing its focus on governance, risk management and long-term strategic expansion.

She joins a distinguished Board comprising industry veterans, including Bibhuti Bhusan Pattanaik, who serves as Independent Director and Non-Executive Chairperson, and Mangala Prabhu, Non-Executive Independent Director.

A Chartered Accountant and an Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs-certified Independent Director, Upma brings more than three decades of experience across banks, non-banking financial companies and diversified financial institutions. Her expertise spans board governance, audit and risk oversight, enterprise risk management, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance.

She also brings significant experience in technology-led transformation initiatives, including finance digitisation, enterprise system integration, and data-driven reporting and risk frameworks. In her role as Non-Executive Independent Director, she will contribute to strengthening StarAgri’s governance architecture while providing independent oversight on strategic and operational decision-making.

Upma succeeds Chandrashekar Guruswamy Aiyar, who served on the company’s Board as Non-Executive Independent Director for a decade. His tenure concluded in accordance with provisions under the Companies Act, 2013, which permit independent directors to serve two consecutive five-year terms. The Board acknowledged his contribution to the company’s growth and institutional development during his tenure.

Commenting on the appointment, Amith Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO of StarAgri, said the addition of Goel to the Board comes at a critical phase of the company’s growth journey.

He noted that her experience in financial governance, risk oversight, large-scale transformation initiatives and leadership across some of India’s most respected institutions would bring strategic depth to the Board. He added that her guidance would further strengthen the company’s commitment to governance, transparency and accountability as it scales its operations.

Prior to taking on independent board roles, Upma held senior leadership positions at Piramal Enterprises, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank and L&T Finance Holdings, where she led financial strategy, capital allocation, IPO execution and mergers and acquisitions. She also played a key role in post-merger integration and enterprise technology alignment initiatives.

Commenting on her appointment, Upma said India’s agriculture ecosystem is entering a transformative phase and that she looks forward to working with the Board and leadership team to support the company’s strategic objectives while strengthening governance and risk management frameworks.

Upma currently serves as Independent Director on the Boards of Religare Finvest, Care Health Insurance, Agriwise FinServ and FarmersFortune (India). She is also a Director on the Board of Star Agriwarehousing and Collateral Management Limited.