Awardees Brief Introductions
01. Dipak Shah Batch of 1971.
Dipak Shah is known the world over for
his heady brews. A third-generation Tea man, he trained with J Thomas before
joining the family business and has, ever since, worked tirelessly to
popularise Indian Teas to connoisseurs in different parts of the world.
He has also had a very successful stint
as an exporter of spices from India, though Tea has always been his first love
as it were. His contribution as a blender of exotic flavours and in ensuring
that the tea bags get their rightful place in the cup are acknowledged with
gratitude by the industry.
Dipak Shah has also been actively
engaged in various trade and industry bodies where he has used his keen
understanding of the commodities as well as of the problems faced by the
industries to make representations before the concerned authorities to work out
solutions.
02. Vinod N. Thacker
Vinod N Thaker is credited with putting
the local food processing industry in the reckoning and for establishing one of
its most reputed brands. The spirit behind Elmac Foods – which is well
established in different markets spread across Asia and Europe, is one of the
few success stories that the city of Kolkata and justifiably be proud of,
thanks to Vinod N Thaker. Elmac is also one of the largest food processors and export
houses in eastern India.
Vinod Thaker hailed from a reputed
business house, but Elmac was established by him from scratch – a rare example
of entrepreneurial zeal that he exhibited at the tender age of 21 and has,
justifiably, not looked back since.
Elmac is the proud winner of more than
twenty national and international awards, though its greatest reward, as Vinod
Thaker puts is, “is the contribution in addressing the issue of wastage of food
products, bringing them into the cold chain and thereby empowering the
cultivators at the grassroots”.
03. Himangshu Shah
Himangshu Shah is a Tea planter of
exceptional foresight with values that are as strong as the first planters who
had revolutionised the industry. With gardens in Assam and the DR Congo on
Africa, he is directly responsible for over 40000 hectares of plantation – some
of the most well-maintained in the industry and for the lives of more than
16000 people who are in his direct employment.
Himangshu Shah has been a stalwart in
the industry and his contribution for the sustenance and growth of the industry
in India and her efforts to spread into non-traditional tea growing regions are
acknowledged universally.
Himangshu Shah has received a number of
awards apart from winning the respect and admiration of his peers in the
industry.
04. Nitin Patel
Nitin Patel is a multi-faceted
personality who has not only successfully steered his commercial enterprise but
has also been engaged in a number of activities that are aimed at social
uplift.
As a journalist and sports commentator
he has been actively associated with sports and games in the state and has
immensely contributed to their development. As a Social Worker, he has been
instrumental in helping those in need, ensuring that our brethren at the bottom
of the pyramid are not denied what is rightfully theirs. As an active member of
a political party, he has been a disciplined soldier, following the party’s
diktats and ensuring that its programmes are given the right amount of exposure
in the grassroots.
Nitin Patel has received various awards
in his career as a philanthropist and as a sports administrator apart from
being hailed as an entrepreneur of rare drive.
05. ChetanDedia
ChetanDedhia is a Chemical Engineer by
profession – an example of what a man can achieve in a lifetime if the
chemistry of hard work and dedication are mixed in equal proportions with
honest integrity and an indomitable spirit. Hailing from a humble background,
ChetanDedia is literally, a self-made man, having all that was there to achieve
and more.
Management, Entrepreneurship, Leadership
– he has excelled in all and yet undaunted, has left his mark in the fields of
sustainability and social responsibility.
Little wonder, he is held in the kind of esteem that his peers in the
industry have for him.
ChetanDedia has been honoured with a
number of awards and humble that the man is, is not keen to talk about them,
preferring instead to seek solace in the satisfaction of all those who deal
with him.
06. Prakash Kothari
Prakash Kothari is one of the doyens of
the Dyes and Chemical industry in India having spent more than three decades
winning his accolades while he established and steered his unit to the pinnacle
of success. As is common with stalwarts, he did not just concentrate in his own
business but also took the case of the industry, taking up its causes in
different forums so as to seek redressal of its grievances.
Prakash Kothari is also equally
knowledgeable about a number of other industries – gem & jewellery, real
estate and the stock market – each having had the pleasure of his association
as he has gone about creating wealth for the nation with single-minded
devotion.
Prakash Kothari has been honoured with a
number of awards and enjoys the recognition of his peers in the industry
segments he has worked in.
07. Sailesh Desai
Sailesh Desai needs no instruction –
either as an industrialist who has stretched the horizons on entrepreneurship,
or as a proud member of the BGES family. An acknowledged expert in all matters
entrepreneurship, leadership, Wealth Creation and Service to the society, he is
literally a shining beacon that shows us the way, the right way, an example to
follow.
Apart from his path-breaking
achievements as an entrepreneur, which need no elaboration, his greatness can
also, be gauged from the fact that he has been instrumental in empowering
innumerable entrepreneurs by making them co-voyagers in his journey to excellence.
Sailesh Desai is also widely regarded as
one who has always given back to the society that has sustained him and his
enterprise. His commitment to social service is legendary – his entities taking
up CSR efforts long before they were either fashionable or mandatory. The BGES
acknowledges with gratitude his constant and unstinted support to his alma
mater.
08. Mahesh Bhatt
Mahesh Bhatt is a multifaceted
personality – a lawyer, a naturopath, an educator – the common thread being his
ability to motivate, to inculcate a value system that helps those seeking his
guidance to triumph over all obstacles.
He has used his deep knowledge spread
across multiple disciplines to mentor multiple generations of youngsters,
immensely contributing to the process of Nation-building by helping youngsters
imbibe the right value to transform into responsible citizens.
Mahesh Bhatt has been honoured with
multiple awards for his distinguished service to the Nation including the Rajiv
Gandhi Excellence Award and the Bharat Jyoti Award.
09. Kirtida Desai
Kirtida Desai is a teacher extraordinary
– she does not restrict her students with the fetters of academics, empowering
their minds, aiding them to take the flight to fulfilment. For her no obstacle
is insurmountable – she continued and completed her studies after marriage –
lessons of the indomitable spirit that she helps inculcate in the young.
For Kirtida Desai, excellence is not a
destination, but the journey and she believes that every day, in every moment
of our lives we have to continue working towards improving ourselves, to
strengthen our integrity, to be candid, to be mature and to be a better version
of the self.
Kirtida is highly respected and has won
many accolades in her long career as an educator – but what he treasures most
is the success of her students many of whom were able to overcome deep personal
shortcomings to shine in life, thanks to her caring intervention.
10. Sweta Dolly Parekh
Sweta Parekh has many achievements to
her credit but the one that gives her the most pleasure was for putting the state of Orissa on the global fashion map. She was the first fashion designer
from Orissa to participate in the India London Fashion Week – and her
collection of Pattachitra was literally the cynosure of all eyes, helping put
this ancient art form under the glare of the global arch-lights.
Sweta Parekh has won innumerable awards
and accolades in her long and distinguished career that includes the Dada sahib
Phalke Excellence Award and is universally respected for her contribution to
traditional art forms and adapting them to modern tastes so as to literally
provide them with a fresh lease of life. Her work transcends the world of
fashion and has touched countless lives – of artisans who are today empowered,
thanks to her consistent efforts.
Sweta Parekh is now focussing all her
attention to the establishment of a Charitable Trust in the memory of her
father which will dedicate itself to women’s empowerment, address issues of hygiene, education and create
awareness about the plight of the acid attack victims.
11. Karan Kakkad
Karan Kakkad is an internationally
acclaimed Nutri-genomics and Disease Reversal expert. He is also certified in
Holistic Nutrition from the American Fitness Professional & Associates
(AFPA) who has done extensive research in the field of biotechnology and Nutri-genomics.
In plain speak, Karan Kakkad is an
expert in the field that scientifically studies the interaction of nutrition
and genes. Through his brainchild Reverse Factor, he is one of the most
celebrated exponents of prevention, treatment and reversal of a number of
potentially life-threatening diseases. He is also acknowledged for his
contribution to help people reverse lifestyle diseases with the help of the
right food.
Karan Kakkad is a life that is dedicated
to a single mission – to create a drug and disease free world simply by eating
right and making the right lifestyle changes.
12. Vikas Vora
VikasVora has been a straddling the
field of banking and finance since the day he walked into the professional world.
He has been instrumental in introducing some epoch-making changes in the organisation he has served that have gone to make a qualitative difference not
only in the services provided to the end-users but also in ensuring higher
overall profitability for the entity.
VikasVora has been acknowledged as a
leader by his peers in the industry and has won various recognitions in his
long and distinguished career as a banker, an officer and a gentleman.
13. Punit Parekh
Punit Parekh has been searching for
excellence in the field of marketing since the time he entered into the world
of business. He is one of the finest exponents of marketing management and has
a complete grasp on the entire spectrum - from the psychology of selling to the
efficient establishment and use of logistics.
He has attended a number of global
conventions on marketing in different capacities and is acknowledged as one of
the prime movers in the digital and e-commerce space. He is also sought after
for his deep insight and this holistic view on matters marketing, revered as a
teacher and a consultant in the field.
Punit Parekh has been honoured with a
number of awards in his lifetime, including the National Award that was
bestowed upon him by the Hon. Governor of West Bengal.
14. Shila Mehta
Shila Mehta is a danseuse of exceptional
grace – an exponent of Kathak, a choreographer, guru and scholar with close to
four decades of experience in the field. Her contribution to Kathak is
acknowledged universally with the academy founded by her now having branches in
different parts of the world, through which the elegance of Indian art and
culture is spread continuously.
Shila Mehta has been decorated with so
many awards and accolades – Oxford University, Bangalore College, Ghent University
(Belgium), Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to name a few – that it
is simply not possible to recount them all for constraints of space.
At the tender age of 19 she was already
choreographing teams comprising of hundreds of dancers – feats of excellence
that got her invited by the Government of Gujarat to mould the moves of 1500
participants as the coup de grace at The Vibrant Gujarat before a crowd of
70000. Like they say, there was no looking back after that.
15. Harish Parekh
Harish Parekh is a film and television
man – a giant among men, in fact, as the films that he make are best of class –
his documentary Cannibals was nominated for the Oscar in the Foreign Film
category at FTII. He is currently devoting his considerable talents to the art
of recording, as the owner of his own recording studio and is widely regarded
for the virtuosity, he has introduced in the field.
Harish has, in his long and
distinguished career worked with all the icons – from Amitabh Bachchan to
Osibisa and has had the rare honour of having his talents, professional
integrity and dedication admired by them.
Harish has received a number of awards
that have acknowledged his multifaceted talents over the years which includes,
among others, the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award which was conferred on him
at the Teen MurtiBhavan in New Delhi.