Former President and MD – India and Middle East, Griffith Foods

Dhiren Kanwar is an F&B industry leader with over 32 years of experience. In the recent past, he headed the India and Middle East business and President and MD for Griffith Foods, the respected global food ingredients giant and was a member of the Global Executive Committee. Currently, as an angel investor and advisor to various start-ups, he specializes in helping form market-entry strategy and driving innovation for start-ups and early growth companies. His forte in building strong relationships across enterprise customers as well as nurturing talent are ingredients, in his ability to swiftly establish entities.
Dhiren began his career as an award-winning chef at ITC hotels, and later, Taj Hotels. Spotting an early opportunity in the industry, he dove in as an entrepreneur, founding and successfully exiting a pioneering venture focussed on a commissary business, a chain of cafes, an event company and more.
He has since served in multiple corporate engagements, including heading the F&B investment advisory business at Future Capital, now Everstone Capital. He contributed to the market entry strategy for brands like Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Barista, Café Coffee Day, Blue foods and Inox.
At Puratos, Dhiren drove the establishment of the India/South Asia operations for the second-largest manufacturer of bakery ingredients worldwide. He set up the production and R&D centre, defined the sales strategy and implemented the network, achieving triple digit growth over multiple years.
As President of the All-India Ingredient Manufacturers association, he has led several delegations to represent the industry with the India government and contributes in policy making for food regulatory affairs. He is an avid cyclist and runs marathons to burn the calories he gathers on his food travels.