Grow Asia, a non-profit organisation that works to improve sustainability practices in the agricultural sector, has hired a new communications and partnerships lead for the region.
Joining the non-profit from Meta, the parent company for social network Facebook, is Satinder Bindra, a former journalist. He joins Grow Asia after nine months with Meta as head, partnerships and communications, and will be based in Singapore.
Bindra’s appointment comes as Grow Asia announced a taskforce for sustainable rice in Vietnam, in partnership with Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The taskforce aims to transform the country’s rice industry from competing on price to competing on quality, nutrition and sustainability.
Bindra comes on board with a brief to broaden the outreach of Grow Asia, which was set up in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and the ASEAN Secretariat to create more inclusive and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia.
Before joining Meta in 2022, Bindra had a short stint with software firm ShowReel as an advisor. Prior to that, he spent three years at ride-hailing firm Uber, where he helped to establish operations in South Asia.
Previously, he was also chief communications officer for the Asian Development Bank in Manila, the United Nations Development Programme in New York, and the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya.
Bindra started his career as a journalist and has worked for the likes of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBS News, and CNN, including a stint as a war correspondent, covering conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Iraq.
He won a DuPont Award for his coverage of the 2004 Tsunami and is author of Tsunami - Seven hours that shook the world.
