Ashwini Kakkar

Last updated

Ashwini Kakkar
NationalityIndian
Education PGDM
MBA
BEng
Alma mater
Occupation Entrepreneur & philanthropist
Board member of Action Against Hunger

Ashwini Kakkar is an Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist, currently serving as the Chairman of Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization established in 1979 by a group of French doctors, scientists, and writers and is committed to ending world hunger. He is a former chairman of Mercury Travels and co-founder and chairman of Via.com. [1]

Contents

In 2006, he was honoured with the highest civilian award Chevalier de Ordre national du Mérite by the President of France Jacques Chirac. [2] [3] He is also the president of the Travel Agents Association Of India, chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), and a global director of the Universal Federation of Travel Agent Associations (UFTAA). [4]

Early life

Ashwini attended St. Xavier's in Delhi, St. Stanislaus, and Elphinstone College in Mumbai. [5] He earned a bachelor's degree from the National Institute of Technology at Kurukshetra, where he received a Distinguished Alumni Award. [6]

He then got an MBA from INSEAD, France, and a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management Kolkata in 1980. [7] [8] He also completed the IRDA regulatory Insurance exams. [9]

Career

Ashwini has launched several travel ventures in India, including Thomas Cook India, Mercury Travel and Via.com. [10] [11] [12] He was an executive director on the global board of Thomas Cook Group, a travel group founded by Thomas Cook in 1841 and sold to C&N Touristic in 2000, [2] and the president of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 2004 to 2005. [13]

He was elected as a global board member of Recipharm, one of the five largest pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMO) in the world, [14] listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2014, [15] and sits on the board of The Travel Partnership Corporation, a Washington D.C. non-profit corporation. [16]

Ashwini has also served as a director on many boards, including Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Reserve Bank of India), Alliance Capital, Pramerica, Europ Assistance India, Himalayan Exploration, Jai Medica, and Himalayan Exploration. [8] [7]

In 2006, he co-founded an online travel company, Via.com alongside Vinay Gupta, Amit Aggarwal, Harsh Azad and Rohit Gaddi, which was later sold to an American technology company Ebix in a $74.9 million deal. [17] [18]

In 2006, President of France Jacques Chirac honored him with the highest civilian awards 'Chevalier de l'Ordre de Merite'. Ashwini is a 'Distinguished Fellow' of the Institute of Directors London. [7]

Ashwini was also awarded the '' Ordre national du Merite '' by French Ambassador to India Dominique Girad for his contribution in promoting Indo-French relations. [19]

He is a collector of modern and contemporary Indian art. [5]

In 2021, Ashwin took over as International President of Action Against Hunger, succeeding Raymond Debbane. He was previously the president of the network in India before being nominated for the global position. [1] [20]

Awards and honours

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References

  1. 1 2 "Action Against Hunger Network elects Ashwini Kakkar as International President". Businessworld . Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Ashwini Kakkar becomes global president of Action Against Hunger Network". The Economic Times . 14 October 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "La France décore l'entrepreneur high-tech indien Ashwini Kakkar". LExpansion.com (in French). 12 June 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  4. ↑ "Mumbai Tourism – Hardselling Mumbai's tourist potential". newglobalindian.com. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 Rao, Pallavi. "French connection". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Distinguished Alumni Awardees". NIT Kurukshetra Alumni Association. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "Ashwini Kakkar, PhD, Vice Chairman, Mercury Travels, Chairman of Via.com, Ambit Corporation and the Fight Hunger Foundation". Questrom World. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Ashwini Kakkar, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Thomas Cook India Ltd". India Infoline . 13 July 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "Thomas Cook Set To Hawk Risk Lines From April". Business Standard India. 15 January 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "Ex-Thomas Cook India CEO Ashwini Kakkar Joins FlightRaja Board". Gigaom . 14 September 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Roy, Mithun. "Ashwini Kakkar picks up 76% in Mercury Travels". Daily News & Analysis . Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  12. ↑ Dey, Sudipto. "Ashwini Kakkar trains sights on travel start-ups". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry" (PDF). bombaychamber.com.
  14. ↑ Melissa, Fassbender (22 October 2018). "Less is more: Significant CDMO consolidation expected as pharma looks to work with fewer suppliers". outsourcing-pharma.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Recipharm - Nasdaq". www.nasdaqomxnordic.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC) | International Climate & Tourism Partners" . Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  17. ↑ Tiwari, Ashish (3 August 2018). "Ebix' Indian unit buys East India Hotels arm Mercury Travels from PRS Oberoi, Ashwini Kakkar". Zee Business. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  18. ↑ Dhanjal, Swaraj Singh (31 October 2017). "Ebix to acquire online travel portal Via.com". mint. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "France honours Indian businessman Ashwini Kakkar". Oneindia . 12 June 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Industry welcomes Tourism Minister, lists recommendations". BW Hotelier. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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