Management Info

Naren Raju - CEO

Naren Raju is the founder and visionary behind Bioenergy Plantations. He incorporated BEP in 2005 with a strong desire to meet global environmental demands by developing a Jatropha Curcas L. pilot plantation in his home town in India.

Naren is a natural entrepreneur. At the young age of 10 he was extracting oil in his family-owned oil rotary mills business. Today, he is following his childhood dream. As well, he has a broad range of international experience in IT, business development, and marketing gained in India, Australia, and Singapore.

He strongly believes in production of bio diesel from non-edible oil plantations and the numerous benefits it can bring to the environment and thousands of workers who will be employed within this industry in developing countries.

Naren holds a Masters Degree in Information Technology from Australia and currently resides in Singapore with his wife and two-year-old daughter.

Alec Shapiro - EVP & COO

Alec Shapiro is a seasoned global executive with a proven leadership record to devise and execute strategies that drive corporate profitability. A skilled team leader and innovative problem solver, Alec enjoys implementing emerging technologies, leveraging proven quality management principles to streamline and automate operations, and leading business transformation initiatives.

He became fascinated with developments in the Bioenergy industry a few years back and devoted his life to promote green sources of energy and improve the lives of many in third world countries.

During the last 20 years of his corporate journey, Alec helped many established international corporations like JDS Uniphase, Sony Music, Gianni Versace, Seagram's, Tyco, HBO, Thompson Publishing, JD Edwards & Co, Richard A. Eisner & Co. in various management and executive positions.

Alec has led numerous large mergers and acquisitions for corporations throughout the US, France, Germany, Belgium, and China. In the last seven years, Alec was with the world’s largest fiber-optics company, JDS Uniphase, where he was Director of Asia Supply Chain and, later, Director of Operations of manufacturing facilities in Thailand, Malaysia, and China.

He was born and formally educated in the USSR where he obtained his Bachelor Degree of Science with honors in Auto Transportation Engineering in 1988. Alec is now residing in Singapore, he is happily married and has two great boys, ages 6 and 3.

Alexander Knight - Director of Communications 

Alex Knight is a Brit who knows the communications business inside out - his first job was at News Corporation (owners of The Times) in London 18 years ago. 

The early nineties were a revelation - he seized the opportunity to become part of the Moscow Times newspaper, as the world looked on in amazement as Russia staggered to its feet out of the ashes of the Soviet Union.

This lead him to a deep fascination in Russian energy, and thus to a stint at Argus Media where he learnt how media, investment houses and the energy business interact. 

Now armed with insiders knowledge, he absolutely believes that the future of energy is in sustainable bio fuels - and that jatropha holds so many of the keys to guilt free consumption. 

He has degree in the Russian language from MADI in Moscow and currently lives in Singapore with his wife and twenty-month-old daughter.

Inna Ryzhy - Director of Marketing

Inna Ryzhy is a successful marketing executive with a business management and marketing degree from Manhattan College in New York City.

She has a vast experience in building corporate marketing strategies across multiple industries during her professional career of more than 15 years.

Inna's line of business includes work for the major Wall Street firm Knight Ridder Tradecenter, leading corporate travel agency Rexxuss International, and being Vice President, Business Development and Marketing of the technology company Voyager Cybertek.

Since 2002, Inna has been a successful executive coach on lifestyle management, image presence, as well as parenting.

Inna is a happy wife and mother of 2 boys. She has made Singapore her home.

Her passion lies in promoting environmentally friendly biofuels for a clean planet.

Satish Vithal Lele - Board Advisor

Satish is a highly qualified Chartered Engineer with over 30 years of engineering knowledge and experience.

In recent years his passion has turned to working with other like-minded experts in producing and promoting alternative energy options such as bio diesel production.

His ultimate goal is to enable communities in rural India to develop alternative energy options that will be good for the environment and help promote sustainable livelihoods in the region without exposing them to adverse effects of modernization like cultural transformation, while allowing them to retain independence in the face of globalization.

He is an appointed member of the Core Group on Bio fuels, by the apex body of Indian Industries, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI), on an advisory capacity to help bring about the much-needed policy changes in this sector.

Along with his associates, Satish provides fully integrated nursery, plantation, growing, farming, processing, and marketing expertise. The nursery is spread over 30 acres of land at Saswad, 22 km from Pune, (200 km from Mumbai) in Maharashtra, India.

Satish is also an expert computer software programmer specializing in AutoCAD programming assignments such as 3D Scale Model, Piping Isometrics for Chemical Process Piping, 2D Pipe Detailing etc,

B. Tech.(Chemical) from Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai (Bombay)