Business / Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Honours 11 Business Achievers

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Honours 11 Business Achievers

Business Jun 19, 2014

by Anokhi Admin

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Awards & Gala Night to honour 11 business leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

This year’s honourees at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce's (ICCC) ceremony held on June 8, included Aditya Jha, the chairman of the POA Education Foundation and former general manager of Bell Canada, and young achiever Aaron-Joshua Pinto. The organization also invited Finance Minister Joe Oliver as its chief guest.

Jha received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his social entrepreneurship and philanthropic work in education cause. Jha moved to Canada in in 1994 and joined Bell Canada as General Manager of eBusiness. He later ventured out to co-found Isopia Inc. a software firm that was later acquired by Sun Microsystems for more than $100 million.

L- R: State Bank of India CEO Rajesh Gupta, Finance Minister Oliver, Aditya Jha and ICCC President Naval Bajaj

Jha has described his journey as tough, but says that the rewards were easily found through his philanthropy work.

“Just because you have more or less money, it does not mean you will give more or less. Giving has a state of mind and when you have understood that part, you will give irrespective of how much money you have,” Jha said in an interview with The Economist.

Pinto is a leader in the making with his Young Achiever award. His work with the International Youth Council Canada and other organizations has sent him across the world, from Cape Town to Mumbai. Pinto is also the Deputy Director of the Canadian Youth Think Tank, World Vision Canada Youth Ambassador and Junior Research Fellow at the Atlantic Council of Canada.

The ICCC has witnessed strong growth over the years, with more than 1,500 members from different organizations that contribute to the economy. The Annual Awards & Gala Night promotes the achievements of Indo-Canadian visionaries and trade and commerce between India and Canada.

This was a key talking point for Finance Minister Joe Oliver who stressed the new era of commerce that could create many jobs and benefit both economies. Oliver highlighted that the Canada-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was an important economic venture for Canada to sell uranium and nuclear supplies to India.

ICCC President Naval Bajaj addressing the gala

“This is a part of our strong complementary interests in the energy sector. We need to diversify our markets and India wants to diversify its sources of supply, including with Canada secure and reliable friend," Oliver said in his keynote address. With Narendra Modi as India’s Prime Minister, Canada is looking to strengthen ties with the new government.

The ICCC was key in helping build rapport between the two countries, by partnering with Modi for the Vibrant Gujarat Summits in 2011 and 2013. The organization sent their delegation of more than 200 small businesses and federal and provincial leaders to represent Canada at the 2013 conference.

The ICCC's efforts in boosting bilateral trade between the two nations were given credence by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “Our hardworking Indo-Canadian community has played an important part in realizing Canada’s success and prosperity and in promoting commercial and cultural ties between Canada and India,” said Harper recently.

The Advisory Board independently chooses the award recipients in the following award categories:

Female & Male Entrepreneurs- Sarab Hans – Managing Director, Hans Dairy(Female) & Sanjeev Sethi – Founder, The Host (Male)
Female & Male Professionals- Shanthi Johnson – Professor, Associate Dean, Faculty of Kinesiology & Health Studies, University of Regina( Female) &Deep Saini – VP, University of Toronto, Principal, University of Toronto-Mississauga (Male)
Young Achiever- Aaron Joshua – Student
Technology Achievement-Alok Goel – Founder, President, OMTEC Inc.
Corporate Executive – Sanjay Tugnait – Executive VP, Head of Americas at IGATE
LifetimeOutstanding Achievement- Aditya Jha – Chairman, POA Education Foundation
Humanitarian- Kishor Modha – Founder, Mondetta Charity Foundation

The gala concluded as another shining showcase of Indo-Canadians who have proved themselves as global Indians and outstanding leaders in the community.

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Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Honours 11 Business Achievers

by Anokhi Admin

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Awards & Gala Night to honour 11 business leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

COMMENTS

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