Rayali Banerjee is the Communications Manager at Syngenta, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). She is responsible for driving the business sustainability agenda through excellence in media relations, brand and reputation management and corporate responsibility. She also works with the executive leadership team to support the strategic direction and achievement of business objectives. Her cultural ties to India began when she was born in Kolkata. After moving to Australia, she visited India at age 13 with family, interacting with smallholder farmers during her trip. Growing up, she questioned how consumers have access to fresh food in Australia whilst smallholder farmers struggle to feed their families. Her passion to make a difference in the lives of farmers motivated her to complete a double degree in Agricultural Science and Business at La Trobe University. Over the past 5 years, Rayali has worked in agricultural investment implementing strategies for investing in land for Australian almonds; on farm enterprises and has provided complex financial advice to ASX listed and international Agribusinesses. She has conducted workshops for smallholders in India which increased their yields and worked for Syngenta across Singapore and India, building relationships with government to enhance the business’ License to Operate.
Rayali is the founder of Ag Bootcamps, where she cultivates the capabilities of diverse future leaders through mentoring and experiential learning. She collaborates with her co-founders on ‘This is Aus Ag’, a social campaign which builds interactive relationships between producers and consumers. Rayali is recognised as the NSW 2019 Rural Achiever, evokeAG future young leader and National Farmers’ Federation 2030 leader.