Sheila Sudhakaran, former Assistant Secretary-General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), has been a strong votary of deepening and diversifying India’s business and economic engagements with Africa. She has been playing a key role in identifying new vistas of cooperation between the two regions by working closely with the Indian and African governments, corporations and development agencies.
In her pursuit to scale up the content and direction of the India-Africa economic partnership, Sheila has been instrumental in breaking new grounds through sectoral, bilateral and regional business initiatives with Africa.She is the chief Architect of FICCI’s Africa strategy and developed FICCI’s business linkages across the continent by setting up an excellent syndicate of MoU partners.
Sheila also championed the cause for closer Indo-African economic and political ties through high-level political visits and CEOs delegations. She was part of many Heads of State Business Interactions in India and Africa.
Sheila has an in-depth understanding about the geopolitical and economic priorities of the African Continent and has been advising many corporations and specialized bodies. She actively participated and worked closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, African Union (AU), African Development Bank (AFDB), and World Bank in the areas of business promotion and policy advocacy.
Sheila’s engagement with Africa as a business policy catalyst and advocacy agent spans over three decades. She has been the mover and shaker of many programmes and initiatives. She regularly chairs, moderates and speaks at business conferences and business forums in India and Africa.
Widely travelled in Africa and an avid follower of developments in the continent, Sheila has organized several big-ticket programmes and delegations, including business interactions during the India Prime Minister’s visits to some of the African countries, Business Interactions of African Heads of State with Indian industry, India-Africa business partnership summits, India-Africa Business Council, India-Africa Agri Business Summit, “Namaskar Africa”, AFDB Annual General Meeting in Ahmedabad, etc.
As the editor of the e-fortnightly Africa4U and the portal Trendsnafrica , Sheila is passionately involved in pushing Africa to the centre stage of the changing economic and business architecture. Sheila is the editor of both platforms and is one of the directors of QUAD Investors Advisory LLP.
Joseph Thachil has close to four decades of experience and orientation in diverse fields like academics, research, business organizations, media management, journalism – both as an editor and publisher. He started his career as a lecturer in economics, teaching monetary economics, statistics and price theory for the undergraduates and postgraduates. As a research scholar, he worked in the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and joined the secretariat of FICCI, where he worked for more than two decades in various capacities in departments like agriculture and rural development, family planning, Joint Business Councils, transport, etc. His last assignment in FICCI was that of a Media Advisor and he worked in that capacity for 14 years.
Joseph Thachil has had association with business chambers like ICC–Calcutta, Sothern India Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI), and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) either as a part-time advisor or for undertaking specific projects. He continues his association with the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) and several corporations either as a consultant or a part-time expert.
Joseph Thachil edits several online and offline magazines and periodicals and is a regular blogger. He is the author of several publications, including business histories of FICCI, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry and CITI. He has a Master’s degree in Economics (a rank holder) from Calicut University and a good LLB from Delhi University. Joseph Thachil is the force behind both the digital platforms and is one of the directors of QUAD Investors Advisory LLP.
P L Joseph has a professional experience of over two-and-a-half decades. He began his career in the hospitality sector and moved on to advertising and marketing. Later, he switched over to events and promotions and is associated with organizations like the Indian Institute of Architects, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), and Manufacturers` Association for Information Technology (MAIT). Currently, he is associated with FICCI as a Consultant and holds a Master’s degree in Literature from MG University, Kerala. He is a Director with QUAD Investors Advisory LLP.
V Balarajan Menon had worked as Executive Editor, Textile Times, a monthly being brought out by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), New Delhi, India, the apex organization of the textile industry. While heading the publication division, Balarajan Menon (Bala) was responsible for bringing out various publications right from the conceptual stage to final execution. As part of the job, he was engaged in research, data interpretation, forecasting, and preparation of narratives. Prior to joining CITI, Bala was working with the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) where he had handled, among other things, the distribution of readymade garment quotas. Presently, he heads the research division of Quad Investors Advisory and plays an important role in bringing out its various publications.
Having rich and long experience in copy editing, Chandra Mohan Dutta (CM Dutta) has worked in prestigious organizations including FICCI in senior positions. He has an uncanny knack for spotting printers’ devils and transforming rudimentary narratives into intelligent and incisive creations. Dutta has several publications to his credit, where he has shown his deftness in copy editing while keeping intact the original idea the author wanted to convey. His insistence on using the correct vocabulary, nuances, commitment to work, and timeliness are exemplary. His uncompromising approach towards using the right semantics, correct English even to the extent of commas and semicolons, and insistence on semantics and grammatical clarity in the narratives give a fresh aura and context to the books, periodicals, and other materials, he copy edits regularly. Dutta is proficient in both English and Hindi and holds degrees in both.
Aparna M
Aparna M is an Assistant Producer of feature films and currently working as a production consultant with Hotstar and Amazon Prime. She did her postgraduation studies in communication from London College of Communication and is presently stationed in Mumbai. She is an aspiring producer of feature films, entertainment short films and documentaries. She is one of the directors of QUAD Investors Advisory LLP.
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