Farm Generations Announces CTO Transition
- Feb 10
- 3 min read
Farm Generations Cooperative would like to announce a leadership update within our engineering team. After nearly five years of extraordinary service, Ravikumar Ramanathan has stepped down as Chief Technology Officer and our lead software engineer, Kheva Mann, has stepped up as CTO
Thank you, Ravi!
We have so much to thank Ravi for as the Cooperative’s founding CTO. Ravi made immeasurable contributions to our company that we continue to benefit from everyday.
As a previous architect for various startups and an accomplished software engineer, we were extremely excited for Ravi to join our team in May 2020. Our CEO, Lindsey Shute, was introduced to Ravi through a friend from the Food System 6 accelerator, a residency program for entrepreneurs in the sustainable food systems sector. Ravi helped transformed Farm Generations from a small group of farmers into a fully-fledged tech company full of opportunity. His endorsement and partnership as an experienced leader and engineer unlocked opportunities to fund, support and grow our mission.
Ravi’s impact on our technology stack continues to benefit everyone at Farm Generations Cooperative. Through deep research and knowledge, Ravi guided us in adopting critical foundational tools like Firebase and React Native that set us up for long term stability and growth. But his most important contribution to Farm Generations Cooperative was the team he built. Starting with our very first interns, Ravi identified and mentored young, talented engineers who wanted to be part of a larger story and create social impact. He hired and led and incredible group starting with Kheva Mann (our first hire in 2020), Yash Totale (2021), Miguel Niblock (2021), Jimmy Lo (2022), and Iacob Sas (2022). During his time with this team, he fostered an engineering culture that is supportive, collaborative, and positive space.
Beyond his technical contributions, Ravi has been a trusted counselor. His wise and caring advice has guided Farm Generations through many challenges and kept the team grounded. And Ravi also pushed us -- encouraging us to think of bigger, bolder ideas. - Lindsey Lusher Shute, Co-Founder and CEO
Ravi, from everyone at Farm Generations Cooperative, thank you for everything you’ve contributed to the journey. Our team, our farmers, and our shoppers are all deeply grateful for you!
Welcoming Our New CTO: Kheva Mann
With gratitude for the past also comes excitement for the future. We are thrilled to share that Kheva Mann has stepped into the role of Chief Technology Officer at Farm Generations Cooperative.
As our very first engineering hire in 2020, Kheva has grown alongside GrownBy itself. He consistently demonstrates technical excellence, leadership, and deep alignment with our mission. Over the years, Kheva has stepped up and earned the trust of the team and proven his readiness for this role. We are excited that his point of view and voice will now be embedded into our leadership team as CTO.
A message from Ravi himself on the CTO transition:
“Joining Farm Generations in May 2020 was a rare opportunity to help build a farmer-owned cooperative, social enterprise, and ag-tech startup — all rolled into one. [...] I am proud to pass on the mantle to Kheva—placing the technology and team into the best hands—and confident that under his leadership, GrownBy will continue to grow and make a meaningful impact. Under Lindsey’s leadership as CEO and with Kheva stepping into the CTO role, Farm Generations is well positioned for continued success.”
GrownBy is the fair & farmer-owned marketplace that helps more people eat more local.
GrownBy is the small farmers' seamless all-in-one solution that simplifies CSA management and farm sales with full-stack software designed for and by farmers.
As an employee- and farmer-owned cooperative, every seller receives access to the same features, updates, and unlimited support included as part of our cooperative fee to ensure equity and fairness while fostering a supportive community where all farmers thrive, together.
Build your farm shop on the GrownBy Marketplace for free and start selling your products in less than an hour.
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