The Tenacious Team

Meet the Team

Our Founders

Malini Kochupillai

Co Founder, Creative Bee

Malini Kochupillai is an architect, photographer and published author whose practice explores cities as sites for public art. She co-founded Tenacious Bee Collective to fuse creative community work with regenerative beekeeping and biodiverse agriculture in Himachal Pradesh.

Kunal Singh

Co Founder, Beekeeper, Forager Bee

Kunal Singh, JoyCorps fellow and co‑founder of Tenacious Bee Collective, is a certified Himachali beekeeper blending agrarian roots, corporate consulting experience, and award‑winning creamed honey to build scalable, women-led rural bee enterprises and regenerative apitourism hubs.

Our Advisors

Anup Pai

Partner, Strategy Bee

Anup Pai, founder‑CEO of eSamudaay.com and former Fintellix co‑founder, is a fintech entrepreneur with two decades’ experience centralising banking data, now backing decentralised, artisan‑led ventures as an angel investor and mentor to over a dozen startups.

Rukn Luthra

Board Advisor

Rukn Luthra is a veteran wine-and-spirits leader: ex–Remy Cointreau MD (India & Gulf), creator of Janus brandy with Sula, architect of Pernod Ricard’s Nine Hills winery and multiple iconic imports. He's been advising Tenacious Bee on premium strategy and growth since 2023.

Dr. Harish Sharma

Scientific and Technical Mentor

Dr. Harish Sharma, retired Principal Scientist (Apiculture) at YSPUHF, is an internationally recognised authority on traditional beekeeping, native Indian bee species and managed pollination. He's guiding Tenacious Bee’s scientific practices and training programmes for over 7 years.

Banali M Luthra

Board Advisor

Banali an award‑winning marketer and the former group CMO of RAKBANK, IWBD board advisor and Dubai Winmark CMO chair. She is a data‑driven brand leader who has built billion‑dollar brands, juried Effies and global media awards. Banali guides Tenacious Bee’s ambitious marketing strategy.

Iskander Lalljee

Board Advisor

A prominent Indian industrialist, environmental conservationist, and wildlife enthusiast, he bridges the corporate world and grassroots wildlife conservation through his leadership roles in both sectors

The Ladies at Badsar

A team of dedicated Gaddi women

Meena Didi

Alchemist Bee

Most cheerful, Meena didi always greets you with a warm smile. Ever ready to try her hands on something new, you'll always find her stepping up to experiment, be it on the farm or in the workshop.

Nirmala Didi

Alchemist Bee

Highly organized, ITI graduate, Nirmala didi has solutions to all the problems in our workshop.

Radha Didi

Alchemist Bee

Always laughing, always pulling legs, Radha didi keeps everyone on their toes. Be it on the farm, in the workshop, or an important meeting with the local District Administration, one can find Radha didi, pulling jokes on everyone, without any discrimination.

Sheena Didi

Alchemist Bee

A meticulous planner and a born leader, Sheena didi has been elemental in running all the workshops and interventions in the village smoothly and is now all set to become a master trainer and travel all across Himachal, training interested community members, the craft of Bee Apothecary..

Sunita Didi

Alchemist Bee

Previously a homemaker, a farmer, and now one of our beeswax experts, Sunita didi wants more happiness and independence for all the women in her village.

Indira Didi

Alchemist Bee

Previously a home-based tailor, and a farmer, Indira didi takes pride in becoming an expert at making candles, creams, soaps, and lip balms from beeswax at Tenacious Bee.

Operations, Experience, Innovation

Aditya Singh

Experience and Operations Manager

Trained chef and mixologist with Oberoi and Taj, Aditya now designs and leads Tenacious Bee’s immersive food, beverage and apitourism workshops, translating local Himalayan ingredients, culture and honey into memorable, intimate guest experiences.