I urge you to come together to serve and to give
Shailesh Haribhakti
Dear Fellow Rotarians,
We are at the threshold of another remarkable year — a year that presents great opportunities, abundant optimism and endless possibilities for community service. Our Club has been known to develop, facilitate and execute some of the most dynamic programmes for the betterment of society. It is my honour and privilege to serve as your President for the Rotary year 2014-15.
The projects at Talwada, a tribal hamlet adopted by the Club, have been one of our greatest accomplishments. Be it the Hasanali Tobaccowala Eye Centre, the Ajit Deshpande Medical Centre or the Anusuya Devi Taparia Junior College, each one of them is designed to achieve sustainable solutions to local development issues. Moreover, there are unlimited opportunities for further development and that will be one of our goals this year. Join us in developing Talwada into a sustainable centre for community service with the highest norms of safety, hygiene, quality deliverance and medical service. Our Club’s flagship project, Bhavishya Yaan, transforms the lives of more than 1200 municipal school children every year. Let’s expand the reach of the programme and ensure it gets enhanced by bringing in the latest technology. We are looking at the possibility of technologyenabled learning using low-cost tablets and devices which will empower people to perform that transformation on a continuous basis. In fact, we may opt for one more school, but for that we need to get the funding to ensure it is taken care of for at least five years. This is our second common goal.
This year, we look afresh at initiatives for women. For the first time in the history of our Rotary Club, women comprise 50% of the new Board. Therefore, we are committing to one major initiative for women — what shape it takes will be revealed in due course of the year. Women’s safety, hygiene and nutrition will be the focus of this whole process. In addition, we have our ongoing service opportunities that include assisting cancer patients and their families, vocational training, night study centres, serving senior citizens, road safety, cleanliness and initiatives for the environment.
We are going to start this year by feeding 3,000 children at Colaba Municipal School on July 1. The programme, which will be funded by Rotarians, is the launch pad for our commitment to service. Let us, dear Rotarians, give until it hurts. Not just in terms of money but also time and talent. Whatever you have in surplus, give it. We give not only because the beneficiaries benefit but also because we feel far greater satisfaction out of the fact that we have helped someone. That is the spirit we wish to inculcate this year. No doubt, that spirit is already there; we just want to harness it and sharpen it. Another Rotary value that we want to foster is volunteerism. None of us ever needs a reminder for attendance or donation. It has to be a process of self-realisation. This is our Club. Let’s come together to enjoy fellowships, to serve and to give. My experience suggests that people perform only when they are self-motivated. Let’s together point in a direction and create an environment that is evocative of the right impulses. Let volunteering come to the fore.
In closing, I’d like to say that we are all part of a fantastic Club. I have enjoyed every moment I spent here. We saw some great giving, fellowships and engagement last year. We did a lot of good things and need to build on those because this is a year of consolidation and emphasis. We have a great Club; let’s make it absolutely stunning.
Yours in Rotary,
Shailesh Haribhakti President (2014-15)
About your President
Every person has different motivations behind serving the public. Some are keen to emulate their role models, while some do it to connect with other people from the community. For some, it may even be a result of meaningful personal experiences. But then there are those who are extremely passionate about social service because they wish to make a difference to the lives of the underprivileged. Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti, our Club’s President for the year 2014-15, is one such person. Each year, the Rotary Club of Bombay (RCB) reaches out to society and touches several thousand lives through its service projects. “And to be entrusted with the opportunity to lead such an organisation this year is truly a dream come true,” says Rtn. Shailesh.
Not many people know that before joining RCB in 1990, Rtn. Shailesh was a member of the Rotary Club of Bombay Central for several years. It was Late PP Rtn. Ramu Pandit who, after seeing his work and communication skills, introduced him to our Club and encouraged him to apply for membership. “Rtn. Ramu was a family friend and thought that the potential here will give me a platform to grow. Even I felt that joining RCB was a great way to continue my journey with Rotary,” he recalls.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, Rtn. Shailesh graduated from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, University of Mumbai. Ask him what he likes about the city and he replies, “I have always believed the best part about Mumbai is the strong networking opportunity that it offers. The city allows you to adapt quickly to any environment and teaches you the art of getting accepted, which helped me adjust easily to the Rotary Club of Bombay. I love the fact that our Club welcomes its new members enthusiastically and brings them into the fold to carry on the chain of good work.” He has served almost every Committee under the Club’s umbrella and takes pride in projects such as Talwada, Bhavishya Yaan, Vocational Training and Night Study Centres.
Rtn. Shailesh is married to R/Anne Amita and the couple has two lovely children, daughter Sejal and son Tarun, and three grandchildren. He says his family members have played an immense role in his life with their unending support, belief, encouragement and sacrifice. He credits his success to his father, Mr. Vishnubhai Haribhakti, who is a well-known Chartered Accountant. Rtn. Shailesh has always looked up to him as a role model.
On the professional front, Rtn. Shailesh is the Chairman of Desai Haribhakti Group. He is a Chartered and Cost Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, Financial Planner and Fraud Examiner. In a career span of approximately four decades, he has lent his significant expertise to regulatory bodies such as the National Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Financial Planning and Standards Board. He has led the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Western region), Institute of Internal Auditors, Bombay Management Association and National Centre for Quality Management as Chairman/President. He was India’s representative on the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board and was also a member of the Indian delegation at the Cancun WTO talks. He serves on the managing committee of Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and on the Corporate Governance Committee of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He has been a member on the boards of more than 70 companies and is presently on the board of 20 companies.
He is an active speaker at several seminars and conferences, and has participated in panel discussions as an expert. He has also been associated with IIM-Ahmedabad as visiting faculty from 1981 to 1983.