| ICCC – 2013 Annual Awards & Gala Night |
|
Best of the Best in Canada Honoured at ICCC’s Marquee Event
 |
Award Winners 2013 with Minister John Baird and ICCC board
|
|
|
Achievers in diverse categories from across the country were honoured by the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) at their Annual Awards and Gala Night on Saturday, June 8, 2013 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. ICCC’s marquee event recognized the achievements of the ‘Best of the Best’ Indo-Canadians from across Canada by presenting awards in several categories including
- Female & Male Entrepreneurs
- Female & Male Professionals
- Young Achievers
- Technology Achievement
- Corporate Executive
- Humanitarian of the Year
- Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement
- Member of the Year
- President’s Award
Award winners came from all walks of life and included enterprising entrepreneurs, energetic professionals, innovative technocrats, corporate executives, dedicated philanthropists and bright youngsters.
The prestigious business and social event hosted more than 1,200 guests and members of all levels of government, leading entrepreneurs, professionals, decision-makers, and academics attended the event.
|
 |
 |
Female Entrepreneur: Raj Girn
|
Male Entrepreneur: Sujay Shah
|
Delivering his President address, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, said: “This evening we celebrate the achievements of our heroes, selected by our Advisory Board, for making a significant contribution to their field of endeavour and for contributing to the fabric of the Canadian society. Since their inception 20 years ago, our awards have come to symbolize the best the Indo-Canadian community has to offer to Canada, to India and to the world. In these two decades we have recognized over 200 individuals.”
|
 |
Chief Guest: Hon. John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs
|
|
|
Speaking about ICCC’s mandate to promote trade between the two countries, Bajaj said that trade between the two countries is currently cruising along the runway and will soon be reaching the take-off stage. “Our theme this year ‘Partnering Economic Growth – A Time to Soar’ captures this sentiment. We will proactively promote trade, add fuel to the fire, and give wind to the soaring relationship. This is because we are no spectators.We are active players,” stated Bajaj.
|
 |
 |
Female Professional: Sadhana Joshi
|
Male Professional: Raj Kothari
|
|
|
The Chief Guest was John Baird, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and the keynote speech was delivered by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. In his address, Minister Baird spoke about a range of topics including the continued importance of economic expansion and cooperation between Canada and India and our longstanding bilateral relations, built upon shared values of democracy and pluralism and strong people-to-people links.
“Our ambitious pro-trade agenda is opening new markets and creating opportunities for Canadian businesses. But to truly open new markets, we need to forge closer ties with India. Canada and India have so much to offer the world.
We have so much to offer each other. And if the last year is a sign of things to come, we have such a bright future ahead of us,” said Minister Baird.
|
| |
 |
Premier Kathleen Wynne delivering the keynote address
|
|
|
The Ontario Premier spoke about the valuable contributions of the Indo Canadian community and the diversity of the province.
“Our diversity is our biggest strength,” she said thanking the volunteers for the ‘beautifully organized event’. “We have half a million Canadians of Indian origin who are building bridges and helping us to explore and expand relations,” adding that Ontario government will be leading two trade missions to India next year.
“One in the Information and Technology sector and the other in the Auto sector,” she announced.
|
 |
 |
Young Achiever: Bilaal Rajan
|
Young Achiever: Sapna Shah
|
|
Providing a perspective on ICCC's continued growth and relevance, the Chamber's President said, "ICCC has been at the forefront of promoting bilateral trade, we feel vindicated that as Canada – India trade gathers momentum over the last few years, organizations such as ours will continue to play an important role in the coming years."
|
 |
 |
Technology Achievement: Nilesh Bansal
|
Corporate Executive: Deepak Chopra
|
|
Speaking about the trade promotion efforts that the Chamber has undertaken, Bajaj emphasized, "Trade grows when businesses talk to each other. At the ICCC we bring these businesses across borders together. This awareness is important to branding Canada. Everyone working in the Canada-India space will agree that we will need to intensify our efforts in advancing the Canadian brand. We as a Chamber are convinced that creating awareness and building brand is critically important. That is why the ICCC’s efforts in Canada and in India are distinctive and focused on small business opportunities."
|
 |
|
Humanitarian: Chandrasekhar Sankurathri
|
Lifetime Achievement: Jagannath Wani
|
|
Delving upon the growth of the ICCC, Bajaj said: "We have grown from being an umbrella organization of the Indian Diaspora to become a business organization that is the voice of small business. Along the way, we have welcomed and continue to welcome the growing band of “India watchers”. Our two featured speakers – the Hon John Baird and Premier Wynne fall into this category. We thank them for their presence here tonight and look forward to their remarks.
This combination of the Indo-Canadian community and the “India watchers” makes for a distinct Canadian advantage and brings new meaning to our motto We Mean Business.”
|
 |
ICCC President Naval Bajaj delivering his Presidential address
|
|
|
Bajaj also announced that the Chamber is working on reverse trade missions of Indian companies to Canada. “In the next six to eight months we will be hosting trade delegations from Kerala, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan. We are bringing a tangible meaning to bilateral economic cooperation. The foundation of a strong and meaningful relationship between Canada and India has been laid,” said Bajaj.
|
 |
 |
Member of the Year: ICCC's WEP Committee
|
President's Award: Stewart Beck
|
|
List of Award Winners:
-
| Category |
Winner |
Sponsor |
| Female Entrepreneur |
Raj Girn, Founder & President of Anokhi Media |
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
|
| |
|
|
| Male Entrepreneur |
Sujay Shah, President, Shashi Foods and Kii Naturals Inc. |
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
| |
|
|
| Female Professional |
Sadhana Joshi, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto |
CIBC
|
| |
|
|
| Male Professional |
Raj Kothari, Managing Partner (GTA), PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
BMO Financial Group
|
| |
|
|
| Young Achiever |
Bilaal Rajan, Youth and Environmental Social Activist |
Silver Hotel Group
|
| |
|
|
| Young Achiever |
Sapna Shah, Medical Research Student |
Silver Hotel Group
|
| |
|
|
| Technology Achievement |
Nilesh Bansal, Founder Sysomos |
Scotiabank
|
| |
|
|
| Corporate Executive |
Deepak Chopra, President and CEO, Canada Post Corporation |
RBC Royal Bank
|
| |
|
|
| Humanitarian of the Year |
Chandrasekhar Sankurathri, Founder, Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundatin & Sankurathri Foundation |
Bromed Pharmaceuticals Inc.
|
| |
|
|
| Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement |
Jagannath Wani, Social Worker and Philanthropist |
State Bank of India (Canada)
|
| |
|
|
| Member of the Year Award |
Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Committee – Ravi Malhi, Mini Khurana, Ginni Sethi, Smita Dayal and Shibani Sahney |
TD Bank Financial Group
|
| |
|
|
| President’s Award |
Stewart Beck, High Commissioner of Canada to India |
Johnnie Walker
|
| |
|
|
