Dr. Seshagiri Raghukumar, Managing Director of MykoTech Pvt. Ltd., was born on 26 May, 1946 in Tamil Nadu, India. After completing his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Botany from Madras University, India, he did his Ph.D. on marine fungi under the guidance of the famous mycologist, Prof. C.V. Subramanian, at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, Madras University from 1967 to 1972. He worked as a Scientist at the Institute for Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany between 1976 and 1981, during which time he was groomed by Dr Alwin Gaertner in the taxonomy and ecology of the marine fungi belonging to thraustochytrids.

He joined the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India in 1982 and worked there till 2004. His major research interests at NIO included the biology of the marine protists, the thraustochytrids, biomass of fungi and thraustochytrids in marine samples, the ecology and taxonomy of marine wood-degrading fungi, microbiology of marine detritus, the microbiology of the Arabian Sea and marine biotechnology. He participated in numerous oceanographic cruises and headed several research projects during his tenure at NIO. In addition, he taught several courses in marine microbiology, biodiversity and biotechnology.

Dr. Raghukumar has published more than 70 original research papers in international and national journals and has described several fungi new to science. He also holds several Indian and US patents in the area of marine biotechnology. He was a visiting scientist at many institutions abroad and was the last outgoing President of the Mycological Society of India. He is on the Board of the International Marine Biotechnology Association.

Dr. Raghukumar was instrumental in establishing MykoTech Pvt. Ltd. and has been fully involved in bringing up the company. He is a keen SCUBA diver and tennis player. He is married and has two children.

Dr. Chandralata Raghukumar, Director and R & D Head of MykoTech Pvt. Ltd., was born on 19 July, 1946 in Mumbai, India. After completing her B.Sc., M.Sc. and a postgraduate diploma in Mycology and Plant Pathology from Madras University, India, she did her Ph.D. on plant pathology at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, Madras University from 1967 to 1972. She worked as a Scientist at the Institute for Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany between 1976 and 1981 on parasites of marine diatoms and electron microscopy. She was a Scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India from 1984 till 2006 and continued as an Emeritus Scientist there till 2011.

Her major research interests at NIO included algal parasites, marine fungal enzymes, deep-sea microbiology and marine biotechnology. She participated in numerous oceanographic cruises and headed several research projects during her tenure at NIO. She guided several Ph.D. students during her tenure and was the Project Leader of the Marine Biotechnology group at NIO. She has published more than 80 original research papers in numerous international and national journals and holds several Indian and US patents in the area of marine biotechnology.

She is a former President of the Mycological Society of India and is presently on the Editorial Board of World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology and has several recognitions to her credit. Dr Chandralata Raghukumar is the India representative of the Asian Mycological Society.