Udai Bhanu Singh

Business Head, ARISE IIP Kenya, Ex Chief Operations Officer at Cangrow Trading (P) Ltd, Ex Olam International, Ex Dabur India

Harare, Zimbabwe

About

Currently working as Business Head Arise IIP Kenya, Ex Chief Operations Officer with Cangrow Trading. Ex Olam International (Packaged Foods Business) as Vice President and Business Head, Ex Dabur India. Results-driven leader with 17 years of cross-market experience across India and diverse geographies of Western and Southern Africa in multi-million-dollar profit centers. Demonstrated expertise in RTM design & execution, P&L ownership, operational leadership, driving high-margin category development and a proven track record of a turnaround specialist in transforming loss-making business units. Competent in setting up and scaling new & existing businesses in competitive markets. Targeting challenging assignments in leadership roles.

Experience

  • Business Head - Kenya at ARISE IIP
    Apr 2026 - Present · 3 mos

  • Chief Operations Officer (C.O.O) at Cangrow Trading (P) Ltd
    Feb 2023 - May 2026 · 3 yrs 4 mos

    • Formulating & translating strategic goals into clear, actionable plans to ensure alignment, monitor progress, and achieve annual targets. • Leading cross-functional teams across Sales, Marketing & Operations, to develop a scalable business model optimized for a hyper inflationary, FX-restricted environment. • Driving new product development with a commercial focus, aligning innovation to market needs to unlock new revenue streams, enter high-margin categories. • Spearheading business scaling by transitioning from a commodity-driven approach to a branded FMCG portfolio, enhancing margins and building sustainable market resilience.

  • Olam (10 yrs 1 mo)
    • Vice President & Business Head, Packaged Foods Business
      Jan 2020 - Jan 2023 · 3 yrs 1 mo

      • Promoted to Business Head with full P&L responsibility and promoted to Vice president for leading business development and market expansion for Packaged Foods business in Côte d’Ivoire. • Built and executed a sustainable business model from scratch, drove consistent month-over-month growth and leading feasibility studies for new manufacturing and market entry strategies. • Delivered strong topline growth and consumer engagement through innovative products and GTM approaches, while overcoming market challenges to deliver on Gross margins. • Built high-performing & cross functional teams which helped in Business transformation and value creation

    • Head Of Sales
      Feb 2017 - Jan 2020 · 3 yrs

      • Spearheaded sales strategies that generated over $50M in sustained revenue each for Snack Foods and culinary business. • Captured leadership position across all participating categories with over 45%+ market share in Ghana through optimized go-to-market strategies. • Expanded operations into multiple West African countries like Mali, Burkina, Togo and Benin. • Developed a market entry plan for Côte d’Ivoire, establishing it as a standalone profit center.

    • General Manager
      Jan 2016 - Jan 2017 · 1 yr 1 mo

  • Regional Sales Manager-Packaged Foods Business at Olam International
    May 2011 - Nov 2012 · 1 yr 7 mos

    Sales and Marketing development

  • Dabur India Limited (2 yrs 1 mo)
    • Area Sales Manager
      2007 - Jan 2009 · 2 yrs 1 mo

      Responsible for Sales in Haryana as ASM

    • Management Trainee
      Jun 2007 - Apr 2008 · 11 mos

      Worked on Vatika AD Shampoo