Singapore, 7 March 2023 – Grow Asia, a multi-stakeholder platform that builds action-oriented partnerships for more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia, today announced that Satinder Bindra has been appointed to lead Grow Asia’s Partnerships and Communications division.
Satinder (Sat) is a renowned communicator and fundraiser, with extensive experience in building multi-stakeholder partnerships. Based in Singapore, Sat till most recently headed policy communications for Meta across the Asia Pacific region. Prior to that, he played a pivotal role in establishing Uber in South Asia and led a global effort to produce one of the most extensive maps of the ocean floor in maritime history. From 2008-2018, Sat was the Chief Communication Officer for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York City, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Earlier in his career, Sat spent almost two decades working for some of the world's leading news organizations, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBS News, and CNN. As a senior CNN war correspondent, Sat covered conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Iraq, winning the duPont Award, considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, for his coverage of the 2004 Tsunami. He is the author of "Tsunami - Seven hours that shook the world,’’ and holds a Master's degree in International Relations from Oxford University, and Bachelor's and Master's degrees in History from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University.
“I’m thrilled to join Grow Asia at such a pivotal moment for the region. As we continue to navigate the challenges posed by climate change, population growth, and food insecurity, the importance of building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems has increased exponentially,” said Sat Bindra. “Grow Asia's multi-stakeholder platform is uniquely positioned to drive systemic change in an efficient and timely manner. By working collaboratively with our partners, we can unlock the potential of smallholder farmers and promote equitable growth across the region. I’m eager to contribute my expertise in partnership building and communication to drive positive impact for the people and communities we serve.”
“We’re honored to have Satinder Bindra join Grow Asia’s Partnerships and Communications division. Sat's exceptional track record and leadership will be invaluable to our organization as we strengthen our partnerships and foster greater collaboration among our stakeholders towards driving transformative change for Southeast Asia’s food systems. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to achieving our shared goals together," Beverley Postma, Executive Director at Grow Asia, stated.
Grow Asia was established in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and the ASEAN Secretariat to cultivate more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia. Grow Asia does so by brokering commercial and non-profit partnerships between the global and regional public, private, civil society, academic, and farmer organizations that make up the Grow Asia Network, creating an ecosystem that supports knowledge sharing, collaboration, innovation, and policy change.
Grow Asia comprises the regional Grow Asia Secretariat in Singapore; 6 Country Chapters; and 44 Working Groups, organized around specific cross-cutting issues (e.g., agritech) or value chains (e.g., corn). Today, Grow Asia engages over 640+ partner organizations through its Country Chapters in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Viet Nam, reaching 2.5 million smallholder farmers. In 2020, Grow Asia was accredited as an Entity Associated with ASEAN due to the important role Grow Asia plays in the region, particularly in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable agriculture development.
Sat can be reached at sat@growasia.org.