Surinder Mohan (Suri) Sehgal is an
Indian-American
Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...
philanthropist with a long career as a crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur, and leading expert in the global hybrid seed industry.
His research and professional successes in the areas of
plant breeding
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cro ...
and genetics, agbiotechnology,
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
, business management, and seed industry development were carried out in executive capacities in several companies in the United States, Belgium, and Germany. After the divestment of a group of four seed companies that Sehgal founded and ran with his wife, Edda Sehgal, the couple created two nonprofit organizations to promote
rural development
Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.
Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of l ...
in Suri's country of origin: Sehgal (Family) Foundation in 1998 in the US, and
S M Sehgal Foundation in India.
The foundations’ work focuses on water security, food security, and social justice with particular emphasis on women's empowerment. A proponent of corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability, Sehgal has also provided support individually and through the foundations for projects related to agriculture research, the preservation of
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
and the conservation of
natural resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
.
Early life and education
Suri Sehgal was born 16 May 1934 in the town of
Guliana in the
Punjab Province of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
(now in
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
) into an inter-caste
Punjabi family. He was the second son, and one of eight children, of a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
father, Faqirchand “Shahji” Sehgal, and a
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
mother, Shushil Kaur Sehgal. Shahji Sehgal was an associate of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
in the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
, and the family home was a center for community organizing for India's independence from British rule. Suri was thirteen when independence brought about the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in August 1947. The Sehgal family home, in the region of the Punjab that became part of Pakistan, was along the route of the mass migration of people who were displaced amidst the violence that followed Partition—Hindus and Sikhs to India and Muslims from India to Pakistan. Suri ended up homeless for a time on the streets of Delhi and a witness to horrific violence and bloodshed before being reunited with his family in a refugee camp in Amritsar, India.
Suri achieved a bachelor of science with honors and a master of science with honors in botany at Punjab University, where he received silver medal, merit certificates, and scholarships for academic achievement in 1955 and 1957. He came to the United States in 1959 to study plant genetics and work with Paul C. Mangelsdorf at Harvard University. He received the Anna C. Ames Memorial Scholarship in 1961. He attained his PhD in plant genetics from Harvard in 1963. He later (1982) completed the Harvard International Senior Management Program in Mont-Pelerin, Switzerland.
Professional achievements
Suri Sehgal's professional career began in 1963 at a (then) regional seed company in Des Moines, Iowa, founded by plant breeder and future vice president of the United States,
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...
, called Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company (named Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., in 1970, and
Dupont Pioneer
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. They are a major producer of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance.
As of 2019, Pi ...
in 2012). Sehgal's tenure at Pioneer lasted 24 years. He was mentored and befriended by Pioneer executive Bill Brown (
William L. Brown).
*Sehgal served as Pioneer's corn breeder for the tropics and subtropics stationed in Jamaica for six years before being appointed manager of the International Department. He organized and established research and development centers, production facilities, and branch offices throughout Latin America and the Caribbean with responsibility for hiring and training management teams. He was appointed president of Pioneer's Overseas Division in 1973, president of Pioneer Overseas Corporation in 1981, and corporate vice-president of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., in 1984.
*Until 1988, Sehgal traveled extensively through Russia, Ukraine, Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, China, and India for the development, management, and administration of international research and business ventures. His East-West business strategy in Europe was the first of its kind in the seed industry, resulting in unprecedented profits for Pioneer. Sehgal introduced high-technology/high-profit concepts in Brazil, a global sourcing concept in Europe, and innovative ideas in the company's worldwide operations.
*Sehgal left Pioneer in 1988 and launched a seed company in India with Edda Sehgal called Proagro Seed Company Ltd. which became a leading private seed company on the Indian subcontinent over the next ten years.
*During the same period, Sehgal served as chairman and CEO of Global Technologies, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, providing agribusiness consulting and advisory services globally; for seven years as chief operating officer at
Plant Genetic Systems
Plant Genetic Systems (PGS), since 2002 part of Bayer CropScience, is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The focus of its activities is the genetic engineering of plants. The company is best known for its work in the development of inse ...
, Belgium, (in 2002 became Bayer CropScience); for seven years as senior advisor at KWS Kleinwanzlebener Saatzucht Ag (
KWS Saat
KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE0007074007) is a European independent and family-owned company based in Germany that focuses on plant breeding, with activities in about 70 countries. KWS is the fourth largest seed producer worldwide based on sal ...
), Einbeck, Germany; and until 1997 on the Board of Directors for Great Lakes Hybrids, Ovid, Michigan, USA.
*Sehgal spent three years as senior advisor at
Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH was a Düsseldorf-based limited liability company owned by Hoechst AG and Schering AG that only existed as an independent company for five years, from 1994 to 1999.
It was established in 1994, when two German producers ...
(named Aventis CropScience in 1999, and Bayer CropScience in 2002), Frankfurt, Germany, where he helped develop the forward integration of Plant Genetic Systems technology into AgrEvo seed businesses.
*He served on the Board of Trustees for International Institute of Tropical agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, and on the Board of Directors for ''Diversity'', A News Journal for the International Genetic Resources Community, USA.
*Suri and Edda Sehgal divested Proagro Seed Company Ltd. in 1998 and used the bulk of the profits to create the philanthropic foundations in the United States and in India. That same year, the Sehgals established Global Investors LLLP, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, as an investment company. The only shareholders are Suri, Edda, and their four children. The Sehgal (Family) Foundation is based in Des Moines, Iowa, as a private donor foundation with the primary intent of making a positive contribution to the development of India, but also providing support to philanthropic ventures in the United States and elsewhere. Suri serves as chairman.
Edda and the couple's four children serve as trustees. The recipients of their funding support include individuals and organizations making a difference in health, education, and conservation.
Personal life
Suri Sehgal met Edda Gudrun Jeglinsky (born December 25, 1941, in Breslau, Silesia) a few weeks after she first came to the United States from Germany in 1962 to live as an au pair in the home of
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
, a professor at Harvard at the time. Suri and Edda shared a refugee past as children. Edda's family had been forced to flee from their country of origin, German
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
, near the end of WWII. The Jeglinskys escaped to Bavaria in 1945 and later settled in Göppingen, Germany.
When Suri completed his PhD at Harvard, he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to work with Bill Brown at Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company. After the completion of her two-year commitment to the Kissingers, Edda moved to Des Moines, Iowa. Suri and Edda were married in the home of Bill and Alice Brown in 1964. The Sehgals raised four children, helped raise two nephews, and opened their home to other relatives who emigrated from India to the United States.
The creation of their foundations and the Sehgals’ ongoing commitment to philanthropy was rooted in the violence and loss they each experienced during their childhoods as fleeing refugees from their countries of origin.
Both are proud Americans
who want to share their good fortune.
Current work
Suri Sehgal is chairman and trustee of Sehgal Foundation and
S M Sehgal Foundation. Edda Sehgal is a trustee. The S M Sehgal Foundation mission is to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental change across rural India. The headquarters building in
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
, now called Gurugram, in the state of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, received platinum-level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
Sehgal is chairman of two seed companies. Misr Hytech Seed International S.A.E. in Cairo (which he helped establish with other shareholders), is a leading seed company in Egypt, breeding and developing high-yielding corn, sorghum, and squash. The other seed company, Hytech India, which Sehgal founded in 2004,
develops high-yielding hybrid seeds in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, India.
Sehgal is a Trustee Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, having helped to establish the William L. Brown Center of Economic Botany at the
Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million spe ...
in 2001.
Sehgal has served as a trustee or board member of several other nonprofit organizations including the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS).
Honors, awards and international recognition
*Suri Sehgal received the Pride of India Gold Award in 2007 from NRI Institute, Washington, D.C. Chapter and the Bharat Samman Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the development of India in 2009, also from the NRI Institute for promoting cultural, academic, and socioeconomic interests of Indian diasporas.
*For Sehgal's contributions to water management in semiarid regions, Suri Sehgal Lake was named by ICRISAT Patancheru in 2009.
*Sehgal received the Leadership in Philanthropy Award in 2011 from the American India Foundation.
*He was presented with the Global Indian Karmaveer Puraskaar Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Justice and Citizen Action in 2013 from the Indian Confederation of NGOs (iCONGO).
*A history of S M Sehgal Foundation's first fifteen years, published in 2016, called ''Together We Empower: Rekindling Hope in Rural India,'' documented the progress and successes as well as the missteps and learnings of the work done in partnership with communities. The foundation has received multiple awards for achievements and inventions in water management, agriculture development, good rural governance, community radio, and book publishing.
*Sehgal received the 2016 American Bazaar Philanthropy Award for committing the bulk of his wealth to the development and empowerment of rural India.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehgal, Suri
1934 births
Living people
Punjabi people
Harvard University alumni
People from Gujrat District
Seeds