Aim

Welcome to The ConneXus eMentoringProgram which is designed to meet the development needs of Indian Youth at all levels from Post-Secondary Students through to Post-Graduates.

The EMentoringprogramme is designed to provide information, encouragement, and support to Post-Secondary, polytechnic, undergraduate, and graduate students who are considering working in a particular industry. Eventually, the hope is for Mentees to become Mentor and continue the cycle of Mentorship.

Objectives of ConneXus e-Mentoring

(i) To provide a guided mentoring relationship between working professionals and our Indian youth with a view towards enhancing the latter's social and professional development.

(ii) To facilitate an exchange of information and knowledge for the benefit of our Indian youth through informal interaction over the Internet.

What can you expect from the eMentoring Program?

Mentoring can assist you in developing your personal and professional skills including but not limited to:

· communication

· negotiation

· goal setting

· conflict resolution

· decision-making

· self-appraisal

· self-marketing

What is expected from you during the eMentoring program?

· enthusiasm

· motivation

· commitment

· reasonable expectations

· taking responsibility

· giving regular feedback

You are required to be a member of the ConneXus eMentoring portal and to abide by the terms established in the Mentor/Mentee Agreement Form.

To gain maximum benefit from the program you can:

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses
• Identify skills you would like to improve
• List your expectations of the Mentoring partnership
• List your professional interests
• Respond to ConneXus eMentoringemail promptly
• Please email feedback to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Please do recommend students if you think they will gain from ConneXus eMentoring Programme

Below is a table of our current available mentorship/mentors:

PLEASE DO EMAIL TO This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it TO INCLUDE OTHER PROFESSIONS.

Following profiles of mentors for Entrepreneurship

Name: Mr. Shabbir H Hassanbhai

Profile:

Mr. Shabbir H Hassanbhai, an accountant started his business career in international trading in 1971 as a Director with M/s. Indo Straits Trading Co. (Pte) Ltd, the family business involved in the re-cycling of non-ferrous metals for the last 80 years. In 1974, he was appointed as an accountant with M/s. Veneer Products Wood Laminates & Parquet Pte Ltd, Singapore involved in the manufacture of wood products for USA and Europe. He was subsequently appointed as Managing Director of Veneer Products Ltd Inc, Oregon, USA to oversee the marketing, warehousing and financial activities. He returned to Singapore in 1978 continuing to manage the finance and investments operations of his family businesses in Singapore, UAE, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman and India. He is also a Director of Parameswara Holdings Limited, and sits on Boards and Audit and Exco committees of Indian companies.

Mr. Hassanbhai is Singapore’s High Commissioner Designate to Nigeria. He is also a Member of the Singapore-Oman Joint Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, the Asean-India Business Council, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Singapore, Member, Middle East Expert Panel, IE, Singapore, Group 3 Traders Committee, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chairman Arab-Singapore Chamber of Commerce. In addition he is the Treasurer of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) and Vice Chairman of the Singapore Indian Education Trust.

Mr. Hassanbhai has previously served as the Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (2002-2004); Vice Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation (2002-2004); Steering Committee Member, Network India, IE, Singapore (2002-2004); Member, SME & Membership sub-committees, SBF (2002-2004); Member, Economic Review Sub- Committee on Domestic Enterprise (2002); Member, ASEAN-India Economic Linkages Task Force (AIELTF) under MTI (2002-2003; Member, SME Finance Committee, SPRING, Singapore (2002-2003); Member, National Wages Council (2003-2004); President and Honorary Chairman, Singapore Business Group, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (a business grouping of Singapore businesses operating in UAE established in 1999).

Name: Mr Predeep Menon

Profile:

Following profiles of mentors for Hospitality

Name: Mrs Bhooma Janakiramanan

Profile:

To be updated soon.

Following profiles of mentors for Law

Name : Mr Ramesh Selvaraj

Profile :

To be updated soon.

Name : Mr M P KANISAN

Profile :

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Passed 'O' level Cambridge Examination in 1969
• Passed 'A' level Cambridge Examination in 1975

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Law University of Singapore 1979 - subject includes Public International Law, Laws of the Sea, etc.
• Master of Law University College, University of London. Areas of Post Graduate Study: Maritime law, Marine Insurance, Carriage of Goods by Sea, Civil litigation.
• Graduate Certificate in International Arbitration.

WORKING EXPERIENCE (LEGAL)

• Chambered with M/s Kartigesu & Arul for a period of 9 months under the guidance of Mr Karthigesu (presently a Judge in the Court of Appeal, Singapore). Nature of work included shipping litigation, banking, disputes on cargo claim, charterparties, ship sales and mortgages and commercial litigation.

• Since admission to the Bar in 1980, worked with Messrs Palakrishnan and Partners, as a Partner till 24th June 2003 when the firm was dissolved after the demise of Mr Palakrishnan, SC. Presently practising under the name and style of M/s M P Kanisan and Partners.

AREAS OF EXPERIENCE & EXPOSURE

• Litigation in Admiralty and commercial matters involving contracts.
• Arbitration involving carriage of goods by sea, salvage, demurrage, charterparty, and other commercial matters.
• Cargo claims.
• Collision and salvage claims.
• Towage contract.
• Disputes in financing aspects of ships sale and mortgage.
• All aspects of Marine Insurance claim and litigation.
• Bank commercial credit.
• International business transactions and documentations.
• Mortgaging and financing of ships
• Personal injuries claim
• Company matters
Apart from general maritime work and related matter have considerable experience dealing with private clients, dealing with wide range of matters affecting private individual and their families. The work involves the following areas:

• Workman's Compensation advice and litigation.
• Societies and Club law.
• Workmen's disputes, dismissal inquiry, protected housing legislation and control of rent matters.
• General litigation involving Insurance, Banking, Construction, Company, etc.
• Arbitrator in commercial matters.

LLOYD'S OF LONDON SEMINAR AND CONFERENCE

• Attended several Seminars organised by Lloyds of London relating to the following areas of law:

• London Maritime Arbitration, English Admiralty Courts, Limitation of Liability, Oil pollution and liability issues, Bills of Lading, Charterparties, Crew and passengers liability, Salvage and General Average, Fraud in Maritime Commerce.

• Other Seminars and talks organised by the Academy of Law and the Law Society.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES

• Tutor in law of taxation, wills, family law, maritime law organised by the Board of Legal Education.
• Volunteer Lecturer – Temasek Polytechnic on Marine Insurance Law.

SECONDMENT TO SINDA - CEO

• The Singapore Indian Development Association is similar to a NGO. It was set up by the Government to take care of the educational and social development of Indians in Singapore.

I was the Chief Executive Officer of this self-help group for a period of two years (1994 to 1996).

I was directly reporting to Mr J Y M Pillay, former Chairman of Singapore Airlines, and Ambassador to the United Kingdom. After Mr Pillay's departure, I reported to Mr S Dhanabalan, former Cabinet Minister and the Foreign Minister of Singapore, presently Chairman of DBS Ltd.

During my stay in SINDA, I had good exposure dealing with various foreign bodies

• Secretary, SINDA Executive Committee 2001 - 2003.
• Presently, Member, SINDA Executive Committee.

MEDIATOR

• Accredited Mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre.
• Mediator/Arbitrator for disputes on costs to the Law Society of Singapore

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES / DIRECTORSHIP

• Director of Television Corporation of Singapore [TCS] - 3 years from 1995 to 1998
• Member, Singapore Courtesy Council - 2 years from 1995 to 1997
• Member, Government Parliamentary Council for Education - 3 years since 1995
• President, Sri Muneeswaran Temple Society, a religious and charitable organisation - 1989 to 1998
• Trustee, Sri Muneeswaran Temple (Present)
• Member, Feedback Supervisory Panel

Name : Ms Sabiha Shiraz

Profile:

As Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, Sabiha oversees the Undergraduate, Graduate and International Programmes of the Faculty.

Prior to joining Asia’s premier Law School, Sabiha was Registrar of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) where she headed the Secretariat supervising the day-to-day administration of all cases that were submitted to the SIAC. She also worked in close consultation with the Deputy Chairman to drive SIAC’s promotion and corporate communications work. While at SIAC, she was responsible for the development of and presently continues in the capacity of Managing Editor of Asia’s first scholarly journal – the Asian International Arbitration Journal, now in its fifth year of publication.

She started her career in legal publishing, where she chalked up substantial years of experience in a public relations and product development role in a multinational legal publisher and information provider. In this role, Sabiha worked with many members of the regional legal fraternity to develop a legal publishing programme. She was also responsible for setting up the professional conferencing arm of the company in Singapore, as part of its business expansion plans.

Sabiha is a Law graduate from the University of Warwick in England and obtained an LLM in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of London, Queen Mary & Westfield College. She is also an accredited mediator with the Community Mediation Centre and the Consumers Association of Singapore.

Name : Mr B Ganesh

Profile :

I am 55 years old.I graduated from the then University of Singapore with an LLB (Hons) law degree in 1976.I was called to the Singapore Bar as an advocate & solicitor in 1976.My pupil master was Mr David Marshall in whose firm I practised for a while.I began my own partnership in 1979 known as Lim Ganesh & Liu later known as Sai Lim & Ganesh.In 19995 I began my own firm known as Ganesha & Partners.My 30 years of practice has covered both civil and criminal practice.Presently I am a consultant in the firm of Colin Ng & Partners LLP since October 2007.I am in the litigation department where I deal with both civil and criminal litigation.I have also been a tutor(for professional etiquette) and mentor (file management course) for new law graduates who have to go through courses conducted by the Board of Legal Educatio n before they are called to the Bar in Singapore.I am also a commissioner for oaths and a notary public.

Name : Mr Nanda Kumar

Profile : Please click HERE

Name : Mr Ramesh Bharani

Profile :

Ramesh read law at the University of Liverpool, England.

Ramesh's main areas of practice include corporate and commercial litigation, alternative dispute resolution, criminal litigation, medical negligence and matrimonial and family disputes. 

Prior to commencing legal practice, Ramesh was a practising accountant.  He was an auditor in a renowned local accounting firm for three years where he gained experience in auditing, compliance testing (internal control audits), forensic audits, audit of solicitor’s trust accounts and other special audits. 

As an auditor, Ramesh was heavily involved in forensic audits.  His significant assignment involved investigation work of a listed company in Singapore.  Ramesh is a member of the Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) Australia.  He believes that his grounding in accounting and auditing will enable him to provide competent and insightful advice in civil as well as in commercial crime matters.

Ramesh believes that “Knowing thyself is the key to success or else the unassuming mind falls prey to disillusionment.”

Significant matters to date include the following:-
•    Acted for a tile supplier in a claim against a Main Contractor to recover the price of good sold and delivered amounting to S$280,000.
•    Acted for an Australian company in a claim worth USD 1 million for an alleged breach of a contract concerning an investment arrangement to exploit oil concession in Indonesia. 
•    Acted for a major property agent in defending a claim by alleged co-broker for fees amounting to $880,000.00 arising from an en bloc property sale transaction.
•    Advised and assisted in a claim representing clients relating to a franchise agreement dispute valued at US$1.02 million.
•    Acted for a property agent in defending a claim for the non payment of sale commission in the sum of S$504,000 arising from three enbloc sales.
 

Following profiles of mentors for Medicine/Surgery

Name: Dr. Ramesh Subramaniam

Profile:

Graduated from National University of Singapore Medical Faculty in 2001. After completion of internship, undertook 3 years of basic surgical training culminating in appointment as Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MRCS). Currently pursuing advanced surgical training in his chosen specialty of orthopaedic surgery at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Also assisting SINDA in organizing health fairs comprising health screening, health education exhibitions and talks. Also has participated in voluntary humanitarian medical missions in neighbouring countries.

Following profiles of mentors for Medicine/Radiology

Name: Dr. Vasanth Metupalle

Profile:

To be updated soon.

Following profiles of mentors for Medicine

Name: Dr. Sunny Abraham

Profile:

Professional Qualifications:
M.B.B.S. Univ. of S'pore 1969
F.R.C.S. College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) 1975
F.A.M.S. Academy of Medicine S'pore 1979

Current Position
Consultant Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeon
Abraham's E.N.T. Surgery Pte. Ltd.
290 Orchard Road #11-10 Paragon Medical Centre S'pore238859

Eastcoast Specialist Polyclinic
#02-03 East Shore Medical Centre 319 Joo Chiat Place S'pore 427989

Visiting Consultant Alexandra Hospital
Postgraduate Examiner in Otolaryngology

Previous Posts
1. Head Dept of E.N.T. Tan Tock Seng Hospital
2. Deputy Head of E.N.T. Dept Singapore General Hospital

Other Activities
1. Member EXCO S.A.N.A.(S'pore Anti-Narcotics Association)
2. Vice Chairman Navajeevan Centre (A Halfway House for Ex- abuse/ Alcohol Addicts)
3. Member of Board of Directors/ Christian Care Services(S'pore)
4. Rotary: District Governor for year 2010-11

Following profiles of mentors for Medicine

Name: Dr Mandeep Singh

Profile:

Dr Singh is an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) and clinical tutor at the National University Hospital, Singapore. He studied Medicine at the National University of Singapore and graduated in 2001. He further obtained the Master of Medicine in Ophthalmology (NUS) and the Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2005. His subspecialty interests include medical and surgical diseases of the retina. In addition to seeing patients and performing surgery and laser treatment for visually-impaired patients, Dr Singh is active in medical research and education. He thoroughly enjoys meeting students and looks forward to interacting with candidates through the CONNEXUS programme, and promises an enjoyable and enriching attachment at NUH.

Following profiles of mentors for Information Technology

Name: Mr. R Ilango

Profile:

Mr. Ilango obtained his B. Sc. (Physics) degree from National University of Singapore in 1986 and completed a Master of Business Administration in 2002 from the Surrey European Management School. He obtained his teaching diploma from the National Institute of Education in 1987.

Mr. Ilango began his career as an Education Officer in a government Secondary School. He has Nineteen years teaching experience in Singapore Secondary Schools. Of those almost 9 years (2000 – 1992) was at a premiere Independent school in Singapore where he was the IT Specialist for the final 5 years. He then joined a Startup internet company as the Chief Technology officer. After which he started his own business. In 2002, he setup itSpirals Pte. Ltd. with partners.

Mr. Ilango has presented papers in the realm of teaching talented students advanced concepts using Technology in international and local conferences. He has coached and led many Singapore Student Teams to international Competitions and Job attachment programmes in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and United States.

Name: Mr. Gopal Varutharaju

Profile:

Gopal has built an illustrious career out of rendering professional IT and Management consulting services for multiple industries in various challenging roles in the last 17 years.

He started his career in 1991 as a business consultant for DHL South & SE Asia, supporting DHL’s logistics and sales business applications. In 1995, he became an Enterprise Systems Consultant with IBM’s ASEAN Global Solutions team rendering services for a host of companies. In 1997 he assisted in setting up a Dutch management consulting company called Magnus Management Consultants, in Singapore focusing on Financials and Logistics.

In 2000, Gopal joined AspenTech, an American solution vendor, to help drive the supply chain sales business in Asia-Pacific. Today, Gopal is the Managing Director of Electra (S) Pte. Ltd., who manages a team of about 60 staff that attends to the ERP and IT needs of more than 60 companies in South-East Asia. Electra is a subsidiary of the Jebsen & Jessen Group of Companies in South East Asia.

Gopal was instrumental in setting up Electra offices in Malaysia and Thailand in 2005, and Vietnam in 2007. His current focus to is oversea Electra’s expansion into SE-Asia.

Name : Mr Kumaran Veerayah

Profile :

Kumaran Veerayah, Deputy Director for Telco Infrastructure Solutions in NCS Communications Engineering Pte Ltd (Singapore) is responsible for consulting, providing service delivery and technical support services in Telecommunication segments such as SDH, DWDM, IP/MPLS, FTTH, and Network Management System. He oversees projects in the Transmission Networks, Operations Support System, and equipment delivery for local and overseas customers.

Besides his primary duties, he is NCS’ Chief Solution Manager in the Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network (NBN) that will bring the fibre communications to each household.

Over the last 15 years, Kumaran has built a wide variety of project management and technical expertise in the telco industry, and also held roles in areas of R&D, Defense, Operations Analysis, Technology Standards and Research & Innovation.

His career started as a Naval Officer in the Republic of Singapore Navy in 1986, where he held various shipboard appointments, and finally, serving as an Operations Analyst in MINDEF. When his bond with the Navy expired in 1998, he joined then Newbridge Networks Inc in Ottawa, Canada as a R&D consultant. There, he gained wide experience and was responsible for the integration of the network management system when Alcatel acquired Newbridge Networks.

In 2002, Kumaran joined Agency of Science, Technology & Research (A*Star) to start an Optical Communications team with the objective to marry researches and the industries. He also managed a programme to showcase the optical communications projects in Singapore at relevant conferences. He was active in IEEE meetings and contributed towards the introduction of Operations, Administrations, and Maintenance (OAM) standards for Ethernet (IEEE802.3ah). The standards are established and implemented for all Carrier Ethernet systems that are being rolled out everywhere as the future of communications.

Kumaran graduated with a Bachelor of Computer Science with Honours from Acadia University, Canada in 1993, where he was also named a University Scholar in his cohort. He also holds a Master of Science in Communications & Computer Networks from the Nanyang Technological University, which he attained in 1998. During his time in MINDEF, he attained Diploma in Military Operations, Analysis & Research in 1996 at the Royal Military College of Sciences, United Kingdom.

Name : Mr Vijaykumar Shah

Profile :

Vijay has spent many years in a variety of roles, all having one common characteristic – the need for innovation.

He started his career as a researcher in the Information Technology Institute, focusing on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to industrial scenarios. Having proven the viability and potential of AI technology, he went on to establish together with colleagues a company to exploit the potential commercially. After more than a decade of surviving the turmoil of the IT industry through the dot-com boom and bust, he eventually steered the company and its flagship trucking management product to a calm harbour in PSA Corporation Ltd.

Today, Vijay is the Strategic Development and Planning Director in Goodpack Ltd, responsible for identifying opportunities for the company to streamline and improve its overall command and control of its operations across more than 62 countries in the world.

Vijay obtained his Bachelor of Science in Computer and Communication Science (Hons cum laude) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1985 and his Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering in 1985 also from the same university. He was awarded scholarships for his university education by the National Computer Board (the predecessor of the current Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) in 1982 and 1984. He is a member of the ACM and Phi Beta Kappa.

Following profiles of mentors for Finance/Business

Name: Mr. Ravi Krishnasamy

Profile:

Ravi Krishnasamy started his career in 1977 with the audit practice of Arthur Young & Co in Singapore. After which he worked with the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Authority as a Finance Manager where he was involved in the financial analysis and evaluation of the tender bids submitted for the construction of the mass rapid train system. In 1989, he joined Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc’s operation in the Asia Pacific region. He held various product line and geographic responsibilities in accounting, finance, treasury, administration and MIS during this period. His last position being Asia-Pacific controller for Cargill Financial Services. He joined Temasek Holdings in1996 and is currently a Director in Temasek Holdings with responsibility for Temasek’s direct investments in India. He graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of Singapore and is a Certified Public Accountant in Singapore.

Name: Mr. Mayur Ghelani

Profile:

EDUCATION

1986 Indiana University, United States of America
- Master of Business Administration
1985 Indiana University, United States of America
- Bachelor of Science (Honours)

WORK EXPERIENCE

From Jan 2007 Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore
- Head of Relationship Management, Asia (Managing
Director), Institutional Client Group
Jun 2003 – Sep 2006 Aman Capital Management, Singapore
- Chief Executive Officer (Co-founder)
Sep 1999 – May 2003 UBS AG, Singapore
- Head of Fixed Income, South Asia (Managing Director)
Jun 1986 – May 1999 Salomon Brothers
Singapore / Tokyo / Hong Kong / New York
- Managing Director

Name: Mr. Kunna Chinniah

Profile:

Mr Kunna Chinniah is a Managing Director / Regional Head, Asia Pacific Private Equity with GIC Special Investments (“GIC SI”). GIC SI is the private equity arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (“GIC”).

Mr Chinniah is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) degree from the National University of Singapore in 1982 and completed a Master of Business Administration in 1989 from the University of California (Berkeley). In 1997, he attended the World Bank Executive Programme conducted by Harvard University.

Mr Chinniah began his career in 1982 as a Senior Field Engineer with Schlumberger Wireline Services in the Middle East. In July 1989, after completing his MBA, he joined GIC. Between November 1989 to November 1997, he held various positions with the Special Investments Department of GIC in the North America and Europe Divisions including the position of Regional Manager, on separate occasions, for Europe and North America, overseeing private equity investments in both regions. He was also GIC’s representative in Frankfurt. He was based in Frankfurt between March 1992 to February 1995 and in San Francisco between November 1989 to April 1991 and from March 1995 to November 1997. His last position prior to his return to Singapore in November 1997 was Regional Manager, North America Division of the Special Investments Department.

Following profiles of mentors for Aeronautics / Engineering

Name: Mr. Prakash Anandan

Profile:

Prakash was a SIET overseas tuition fee recipient in the year 2002. Formerly a diploma holder from Singapore Polytechnic, Prakash furthered his studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. He emerged as the top 5 % of his cohort and returned with a first class honours degree in Electronics in Aviation. Currently he is working at Singapore Technologies Aerospace as a technical service engineer.

Since his polytechnic days he has been giving tuition to needy students. Prakash seized the opportunity to do more for the community when SIET invited him to be part of the management team. During the many discussions he had with the community, he had stressed on the need for networking in the current economy. As a core member of Connexus, Prakash is actively involved in sourcing for mentors for the youth network.

Name : Bala

Profile :

To be updated soon

Name : Amarjit Singh

Profile :

To be updated soon.

Name : Mr Rajan Krishnan

Profile :

To be updated soon.

Following profiles of mentors for Teaching

Name: Mr Puvan Ariaratnam

Profile:

Mr Puvan Ariaratnam has been involved in the education sector for the past 28 years. He has been a teacher, Vice-Principal and Principal of schools. In his previous appointment he served as a Superintendent of schools in the Ministry of Education overseeing a cluster of primary and secondary schools and a Junior College. He is presently the Deputy Director, National Education and Planning in the Ministry of Education's Planning Division.

Following profiles of mentors for Sports

Name: Mr S Varatharajan

Profile:

S. Varatha Rajan began his career in the teaching profession specializing in Physical Education. He obtained his BSc (Honours) from Loughborough University of Technology and professional teaching qualifications from the School of Physical Education, National Institute of Education. Upon graduation, he has taught both at a secondary and junior college levels.

During his ten-year stint at the National Junior College, he has taken on various portfolios such as Sports Secretary and Acting Head, Department of Sports and Co-curricular activities. In the various capacities, he was instrumental in the college achieving national titles in soccer, hockey, track and field and cross-country. Yet he was a teacher at heart, constantly motivating and guiding his students to achieve excellence not only in sports but also in life.

Realizing his capabilities and potential, the Ministry of Education appointed him as the Combined Schools U-15 soccer coach over a period of three years. In this capacity, he developed a strategic plan in developing youth soccer players and many of who are now playing for the National soccer team.

In his quest to further contribute in his area of expertise, he took up the position of General Manger for Soccer Academy at the Singapore Sports School. Currently he works closely with the mainstream schools in the Ministry of Education, Sports Council and the Football association of Singapore to nurture young soccer talented boys to fulfill their dreams.

Following profiles of mentors for Modern retail marketing

Name: Mr Balaji Ramanujam

Profile:

PROFILE SUMMARY

Extensive experience in Marketing across Asia. Track record of leadership and building people and teams. Recognized as a strong strategic thinker – uniquely good with unstructured challenges and a successful coach.

WORK EXPERIENCE

A. Energizer Asia Pacific - Regional Marketing Manager, Asia & Africa. (Based in Singapore) Nov 2005 – Current.
Key Responsibilities :
- Lead Energizer brand franchise across Asia & Africa ($300 MM revenues, 15 key markets, multicultural/ multifunctional teams).
- Define regional brand footprint, architecture, strategies. Grow brand equity, revenue & profitability
- Develop communication, deliver regional brand initiatives across markets.
- Support Market teams and Global teams to deliver on their brand priorities.
- Build marketing capability across the Asia organization via developing strong Marketing partner agencies, leading / supporting training & development programs and Identifying/ sharing best practices.

B. Procter & Gamble ASEAN/ Australasia/ India. June 1996 – Oct 2005 (Based in Singapore from July 2001)
Roles Handled :
- Regional Brand Manager Skin Care - Olay ASEAN, Australasia, India (Oct 2003 – Oct 2005)
- Regional Brand Manager, Zest Philippines (November 2001 – Oct 2003)
- Regional Marketing Operations Manager November 2000 – November 2001 (Based in Bombay till June 2001 and Singapore since then)
- Brand Manager Detergents, India June 2000 – November 2000 (Based in Bombay)
- Assistant Brand Manager Foods & Beverages July 1999 – June 2000 (based in Manila), Oct 1998 – June 1999 (Based in Bombay)
- Assistant Manager, India Strategy & Business Development group January 1998 – October 1998
- Assistant Manager – Market Research June 1996 – December 1997.


EDUCATION

Post Graduate Diploma in management, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore (1994 – 1996).

Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1990 – 1994).

INTERESTS

- Playing, viewing Soccer and passionately supporting Liverpool FC & Juventus!
- Teaching, Interacting with young minds: Developed and conducted case studies/ ‘Business Simulation games’/ workshops across Indian Institute of Management, and NTU
- Reading about Economics and Cosmology.

Following profiles of mentors for Civil Service

Name: Mr. Premjith S

Profile:

Mr S Premjith is currently the Director (South Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Born on 19 August 1968, Mr Premjith graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from Murdoch University, Australia, in 1994. In 2002, he obtained a Master in Philosophy, from Cambridge University, UK.

Mr Premjith is married to Ms Libby Sang, a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Name : Mr R Rameash

Profile :

R Rameash started his secondary school curriculum in Raffles Institution and then Raffles Junior College. He represented Raffles in Basketball from C boys to A boys Nationals.

As an active NSman from 1984 to 1987, he was a qualified Physical Training Instructor(PTI) in the Navy. His current active sports interests are golf, running long distances and squash.

Now, age 43, he holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering from NUS graduated in 1991. He also has a Graduate Diploma in Business Adminstration from SIM(1994).

Since, 1991 he has worked in AMP Inc, as a Quality Engineer and promoted over the years to Quality Division Mgr( Head of Dept) reporting to GM. Thereafter, he took on a new challenge as Customer Service Division Manager to re-organize the order processing processes.

Due to his versatility in people management, he moved to Human Resources under Tyco Electronics ( Tyco International acquired AMP Inc, ) as Human Resources Division Manager for Singapore Operations in 2003. In 2005, Rameash was promoted as Director, Human Resouces Shared Services - Asia South/ANZ as a regional director till present. Other responsibilities includes running the Rep Offices in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi to support administratively across various sales business units.

He is married with 2 children ( age 11 and 13 ) and his wife works as a Treasures Relationship Manager in DBS Ltd ( Bukit Timah Plaza Branch Office ).

Name : Mr VP Jothi

Profile :

To be updated soon.

Following profiles of mentors for Defence /military

Name : Sukhvinder Singh CHOPRA

Profile :

To be updated soon.

Profile :

Attended school in Outram Primary School, Queenstown Secondary Technical School, St Andrew’s Junior College and finally majoring in Physics from National University of Singapore. Later pursued my MBA on a part-time basis with Henley Management College graduating in 1999.

At a professional level, attended courses relating to Strategic Sourcing by W. P. Carey School Of Business (State University of Arizona). Also attended the Strategic Cost Management and Managing The Supply Chain by Jimmy Anklesaria of Anklesaria Group, San Diego.

My involvement in Material Management/Supply Chain started in 1991 and I have held the various roles namely:

- Procurement Administrator, Texas Instruments (S)
- Purchasing Manager, MHE-Demag (S) Pte Ltd
- Regional Purchasing & Logistics Manager, Danfoss Industries Singapore
- Regional Materials Manager, MHE-Demag (S) Pte Ltd

Currently, I am the Group Procurement Manager of CTP Holdings Pte Ltd, which is a JV between Cargill, Inc of USA and Temasek Holdings.

My eighteen years of professional expertise in Material Management/Supply Chain has give me a strong hands on experience and foundation in

- Global Sourcing
- Strategic Cost Reduction
- Supplier Development
- Improving Inventory Turns
- Managing Customer Supplier Alliance
- Managing Cross Functional teams
- Sourcing Cost Models
- Freight & Logisitcs

Following profiles of mentors for Training Facilitator

Name : Haja Zafarullah (Zafar)

Profile :

Zafarullah (Zafar) is dynamic and energising presenter who is trained as a management consultant and a training facilitator. He is a Champion Speaker with Toastmasters International winning numerous contests as the Best Speaker.

He is the National (Humorous) Speech Champion in 2005 organised by People’s Association of Singapore (P.A)

Zafar is a strong advocate of positive thinking. Despite facing challenges, he always keeps a positive outlook of life. A supporter of motivational guru Napolean Hill’s philosophies, he is an avid reader and a life long learner. His drive to promote the significance of positive mindset has seen him working with hundreds of students and adults.

He has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience from working and interacting with people from all walks of life and ages. He has facilitated trainings to students, teachers and to various management levels in corporations. He specialises trainings in the area of communication and presentation skills, self-motivation, building positive attitude and bonding individuals into dynamic team players.

With his varied and broad experience and knowledge gained as a Business Consultant and a Training Facilitator, Zafar conducts coaching sessions to individuals and small business owners who aspire to move up to a higher level of personal achievement. As a member of the Toastmasters International, he holds the title of Competent Leader. He has also coached individuals to become better speakers and to becoming champion speakers. He is an active volunteer and a member of the voluntary association, Apex Clubs of Singapore and has led the club as the President. He very strongly believes in giving back to the society and to helping the less fortunate.

As a caring and a compassionate person, he is well liked by participants and all. His academic qualification and vast experience in life gives him the ability and the edge in reaching out to all groups of people in a captivating and passionate manner.

Click HERE for list of Area of Expertise (in PDF)