All four recipients of the World Zarathushti Chamber of
Commerce awards were ladies
Parinaz Gandhi
A lei (garland) of artificial flowers welcomed every visitor who had registered for the WZCC (World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce)-FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) Gala night at Holiday Inn in Orlando on May 4, 2019. Floating candles in the floral arrangement on each banquet table further enhanced the Hawaiian theme selected by the WZCC Central Florida Chapter that organized the function.
Above, from l, 1st row: Perzen Patel, Dr Jennifer Avari Silva;
2nd row: Spenta Captain Kandawalla, Roshan Bharucha
From l: Ajay Banga, Aashish and Dinyar Devitre, Ritu Banga, Nilufer and Edul Daver
1. Ervad Soli Dastur, 2. Homi Gandhi, 3. Afsaan Kermani,
4. Mani Rao, 5. Zarine Commissariat, 6. Zenia Shroff, 7. Afreed Mistry
The WZCC awards presentation that night saw all lady recipients, the first time since the awards were instituted in 2002: Perzen Patel was honored as the Outstanding Young Zarathushti Entrepreneur/Professional; Dr Jennifer Avari Silva as the Outstanding Zarathushti Entrepreneur; Spenta Captain Kandawalla as the Outstanding Zarathushti Professional; Roshan Bharucha as the Outstanding Zarathushti Social Entrepreneur. Additionally Dinyar Devitre was conferred honorary membership of the WZCC, joining the guild of 11 other distinguished individuals that continues to remain a male bastion.
The evening started with an invocation by Ervad Soli Dastur followed by the singing of the US and Canadian national anthems by Mani Rao. "We hope we have lived up to your expectations,” said Central Florida Chapter chair Afsaan Kermani when welcoming the guests to "the stellar event.” "Honest discussions, open minds and a welcoming attitude have put us on a positive path for the future,” observed FEZANA president Homi Gandhi, referring to the two days of deliberations at the FEZANA annual general meeting on May 3 and 4. "At the Gala Awards we recognize the crème de la crème of Zarathushti entrepreneurship,” stated WZCC global president Edul Daver. The organization’s mission is "to create an Ajay Banga (chief guest at the function), Dinyar Devitre and perhaps even a Jamsetji Tata,” he noted, adding that the community values "hard work, honesty, integrity, charity,” knowing that "the end does not justify the means… Follow the tenets of good thoughts, good words and good deeds and you will never go wrong.”
The highlight of the evening program was the keynote address by Banga, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mastercard, in the form of an interactive chat between him and his erstwhile mentor Devitre, director of Altria Group and IHS Markit Limited. Throughout the discussion they preferred to forego the backrest of their executive chairs to keep their feet firmly planted on the dais and kept the audience too on the edge of their seats. As guest of honor, Banga’s wife, Ritu, co-founder of Zoomdojo, a college to career initiative, then presented the WZCC Awards for 2018.
Three ladies — Zenia Shroff of Florida, Zarine Commissariat of India and Afreed Mistry of Canada — who served as masters of ceremonies over the four days were specially recognized. Appreciation was also shown to Benafsha Bamasi and Dinaz Irani from the host team who labored for weeks to create nearly three dozen paper flowers and the asho farohar motif that served as the stage backdrop through the evening.
Graceful Hawaiian dancers and pulsating music lent a special charm to the evening. The Polynesian dinner followed by lively music by DJ Arslan gave those present an opportunity to dance and bring to a close four days of fellowship.
Astute awardees
Patel started to document her culinary journey on a blog called bawibride.com six years ago and simultaneously launched Bawi Bride Kitchen in Bombay as a home delivery food service. She has been given credit for introducing Parsi Food Pop-Ups, Parsi Food Walks and even a Parsi Food Festival (see "Nothing like a secret recipe,” Parsiana, September 21, 2015). Her business model with the motto "Taste the love, love the taste,” uses social media as a key tool in spreading the word, getting feedback, listening and interacting with customers in real time. A graduate from the AUT University in Auckland with a Bachelors in International Hospitality Management and Business Marketing she was on the organizing committee for the Sixth World Zoroastrian Youth Congress in New Zealand and had participated in one of the first Return to Roots programs.
Thanking FEZANA vice president Arzan Wadia for nominating her, and her family for supporting her, Patel announced that since she is relocating to New Zealand, she will be closing down her Kitchen and will be focusing on her Parsi podcast titled "Not just dhansak.”
Assistant professor of pediatrics at Washington University and director of Pediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology at St Louis Children’s Hospital, Jennifer and her husband Prof Jon Silva hypothesized that mixed reality technology could provide true three dimensional visualization of a patient’s anatomy. This ‘floating’ image over the patient allows electrophysiologists "to control the data they are viewing. With Washington University’s help the process was patented, a company SentiAR formed to commercialize the technology and key introductions made with local investors and entrepreneurs,” explained the awardee. Their start-up company was recently awarded a $2.2 million small business innovation research grant through the National Institute of Health.
"Listen to the market… identify an unmet need… innovate… generate value,” Jennifer spelt out the mantra for success that has helped her forge ahead. Valuing the support of her husband, children, parents and her team, she urged the audience to "listen to the youth.”
Vivacious Hawaiian dancers and musicians entertain at the Gala night
An independent director on several corporate boards in the food, insurance and banking industries in Pakistan, Captain Kandawalla is director and co-owner of Captain-PQ Chemical Industries, the leading manufacturer of silicates in Pakistan (see "Bracing for the board,” Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, May 7, 2016). She has also served as managing director of Kandex Sales Private Limited which successfully introduced Honda automobiles to Pakistan. Active in civil society too, she is managing trustee of her family’s Captain Foundation, founder trustee of The i-Care Foundation, Pakistan’s first donor advised fund, is vice president of the Patients’ Aid Foundation which partners with the Jinnah Hospital, is on the board of the Parsi General Hospital Trust Fund and the Liaquat National Medical Center and the Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Fund.
Being a woman and that too from the minority Zarathushti community in the world of business in Pakistan has been "a lonely place,” confessed Captain Kandawalla. Ofttimes, the first and only woman on the board, she mentioned that she has "worked passionately for women…and gender equality.” Having joined the family business at the age of 21 where she learnt "rigorous life skills,” she stated that there was "no mollycoddling for me.” She attributed her success to her "diligence, integrity and strong work ethic.” Her husband Darius who passed away last year "always encouraged me to go for it whenever I was at a crossroad,” appreciated Captain Kandawalla, dedicating the award to him.
The first representative from the minority community to be appointed provincial minister of Baluchistan under Gen Musharraf’s regime, in the first decade of this century Bharucha represented Baluchistan in Pakistan’s Senate and was made federal minister of social welfare, civil rights, population and youth (see "Balochistan’s braveheart,” Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, September 21, 2018). Former administrative secretary and administrative officer at the International Labour Organization, she later worked for GTZ, a German non-profit organization and over 12 years established 12 training centers and a micro-lending program. Founder and managing director of SOS Children’s Village that offers a home to orphans and abandoned children, Bharucha also launched HUNAR Foundation to impart vocational training to the poor and neglected women of Quetta. General secretary of the Quetta Parsi Anjuman where the community numbers are rapidly declining, she is committed to opening her home and hearth to the elderly Parsis in her neighborhood.
Unable to accept the award in person as she reportedly had issues in getting a US visa, Bharucha’s acceptance speech was read out by Rustom Engineer of Houston. Grateful for the "incredible honor,” she added, "I had never expected that my work would be recognized in America.” Viewing the award as an appreciation of her work for the abandoned orphans, she conveyed, "Helping others has always been my life… Losing myself in the service of others” brings fulfillment.
Periodically, WZCC inducts as honorary member one distinguished individual whose significant contribution through commerce, professions, charity has benefited mankind and the Zarathushti community, and who, it expects, will further the cause of WZCC. This year the privilege was accorded to Devitre who felt "very honored” to receive this recognition.
An international business executive, over the last 40 years Devitre has held leadership positions in the consumer products industry and financial services in Asia, Australia, Japan, Europe and the US. He was with the Altria Group for 35 years, retiring as chief financial officer in 2008 but continues as a member of its board of directors where he is chairman of the finance committee. At IHS Markit, he is chairman of the audit committee. He had also served on the boards of Kraft Foods, Western Union and SABMiller and held senior operating positions with Philip Morris.
An active member of the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York and generous donor to Zoroastrian and other causes, he has recently evinced interest in initiating a Global Zoroastrian Research Study (see "A second arm,” Parsiana, May 21-June 6, 2019). Additionally he serves on the board of trustees of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is vice chairman of Pratham Educational Foundation that endeavors to be a game changer by ensuring that every child gets an opportunity to go to school.
Right place, right time, right people
"The more you run, I charge. I make money when you move,” stated the Mastercard CEO, Banga, when explaining the logistics of the plastic currency business. "As the 13th or 14th largest corporation in America… with a market cap of USD 253.3 billion Mastercard is a technology and data company. We do not issue any cards,” he clarified. Drawing an analogy with the rail line, Banga further explained that whilst "we lay tracks, it is the banks that run the trains.” Using data to their advantage without violating privacy, he gave an example of how they deduce that people who eat in a particular restaurant also like to play golf.
Co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute and erstwhile member of President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, Banga explained that "IOT (Internet of Things) is outstanding.” Advances in IOT will lead to one’s car talking directly to the petrol station, or an old person being served medicine without any human presence. However it needs "to be amended to protect the right to safety and privacy… IOT is powering a lot of data. We take security for granted. Nobody believed Facebook was trading data.” Whilst voice recognition applications may appear cool, be thoughtful of how one’s private space may not be the castle one imagined. "Today there is democratization of knowledge through Internet but there is also manipulation of news,” he cautioned.
When Devitre asked him "what advice would you give to narrow income inequality… and what advice would you give the prime minister in India so that the country does better economically?” Banga observed, "The rich are getting richer… Benefits of growth are not filtering in society… Those who have capital can access it more. Interest rates have been low for 10 years… Artificial intelligence will make it worse. We are in a tunnel seeing a fake train coming. There are nine million Americans who drive for a living. With the introduction of driverless vehicles, the first to be affected will be driverless trucks… We are not reskilling people.”
Advocating education that enhances employability, Banga pointed out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi "got elected because of his promise for jobs and quality of life… India needs 12 million jobs; Modi has generated one million.” Convinced that "manufacturing cannot generate 12 million jobs,” he recommended tourism. Whilst describing himself as a supporter of "made in India,” he felt there was a need for "clean India (so that residents can be assured of) a quality of life, where women should feel welcome and safe, where women don’t need to walk three hours in a village to draw dirty water from a well.”
When Devitre prodded Banga regarding the "key drivers” that helped his growth chart, he answered, "A large part of my good career was due to my being in the right place at the right time with the right people.” He referred to his enjoying a comfortable executive position in his younger days when Devitre who was his boss gave him a transfer that Banga initially resented but appreciated in hindsight for "if someone decides to transfer you it is because he trusts you and sees value in you. Don’t limit your life… A boss who cares for you gives you chances… Seize your luck and run the race.” With his father being in the army and his wife’s father in the railways, shift of residence was routine for both of them. When Banga was with the Citigroup, handling various portfolios including as CEO of its Asia Pacific division, his career took him to the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Referring to his elder daughter who was required to change nine schools on account of his transfers, he stated, "It is never the children who find it tough. It’s the parents who choose to hide behind the child.”
Currently required to travel more than 200 days in a year, he believed "the most important thing is to be in front of my clients and my employees and lead by example… Ability, humility, decency, what you do and how you do your job” he considered important factors in an upward trajectory.
First vice chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of the US Council for International Business, Banga has also been founding trustee of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, member of the US-India CEO Forum and was past member of the US President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. As a turban wearing Sikh who has faced challenges after Indira Gandhi was assassinated and enjoyed respect when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Banga confessed that he takes random security checks in his stride.
Reports on other WZCC events in Orlando will appear in forthcoming issues of Parsiana