Sharjah: Sudhir Shetty to be honoured with Mayura Award

Shodhan Prasad
Daijiworld Media Network - Sharjah

Sharjah, May 19: The prestigious 11th annual ‘Mayura Prashasti’ instituted by Karnataka Sangha Sharjah will be conferred on the internationally well-known trade personality Y Sudhir Kumar Shetty for his outstanding achievements and contributions in the fields of business leadership, philanthropy and social service.

Karnataka Sangha, Sharjah has been honoring distinguished Kannadigas from the Gulf region by conferring them with the prestigious ‘Mayura Award' for their outstanding achievements and contributions in different fields of excellence over the past 10 years.

The 11th anniversary and the Mayura Award function will be held at the grand ceremonial hall at the Evan Hotel on the beautiful and scenic promenade of Sharjah – The Corniche. And this year’s prestigious honour will be conferred on Sudhir Kumar Shetty in the august presence of chiefs of various fellow associations, distinguished guests and the vast majority of Kannadiga diaspora who have made UAE their adopted home – the Karma Bhoomi.

An Achiever par excellence – Sudhir Kumar Shetty

Y Sudhir Kumar Shetty has been rendering yeomen service to the vast majority of the expat communities at large, as the chief operating officer (COO) of the household name in the UAE, Gulf and the Middle East for money exchange, international remittances and other financial transactions – The UAE Exchange. Having a phenomenal reach of over 170,000 centers around the world, across 150 countries, collaborations with over 150 world-renowned banking and financial institutions with over 700 offices world-wide, employing over 9000 dedicated personnel from 40 different nationalities, catering to over 6 million satisfied customers with a smiling face and quality service are proofs of Shetty’s eloquent leadership qualities.

Hailing from the small-time hamlet called Enmakaje situated near the border town of Kasargod in Karnataka State in India, following the path of success to Abu Dhabi Shetty is the son of Varvadi Thimmappa Shetty and Kalavathi Shetty. As the descendant of a prestigious ancestral lineage, his father was a district Educational Authority and his grandfather Belle Shamraya Shetty was a headmaster of the higher secondary school of the region. It’s a proud moment for the parents and grandparents that their protégé has achieved international fame.

Shetty’s higher educational pursuit started at another distinguished educational institution in St Aloysius College in Mangalore. Disappointed at not getting admission into the preferred stream of Commerce graduation, Shetty reluctantly enrolled in the Science stream. As they say, luck favours the brave and the courageous Shetty got admission into his preferred stream of commerce by the grace of the ever beneficent principal of the college when 5 students of the commerce course left the college which changed forever the direction of Shetty’s life for the better.

Continuing his passion for higher studies, Shetty acquired a degree in law from the University of Mysore and further consolidated his proficiency in the field of Finance, law and audit by completing the Chartered Accountancy (CA) course from Mangalore. As an articled clerk, a pre-requisite for the CA course as well as post qualification, Shetty handled audit responsibilities for several audit firms, financial institutions, banks, insurance and other commercial establishments and in the bargain acquired phenomenal experience in almost every field of financial and commercial activities. Spotting this talented professional, Padmashree B R Shetty, the doyen of the Indian businessmen in the Middle East, invited Sudhir to Abu Dhabi and offered him the position of ‘Internal Auditor’ of UAE Exchange. Recognizing Sudhir’s work commitment and a zeal to take the establishment to greater heights, he was made the General Manager by giving him the total responsibility of the operations of the Exchange, which has been notching up impressive growth year after year by its innovative marketing and service excellence. And the credit for all this goes to Sudhir Kumar Shetty’s immaculate service culture and discipline.

Despite holding such a high and influential position, Shetty disarms you with his ever smiling face, simplicity and his people-friendly attitude. He interacts with effortless ease with the common man and the high and mighty, which has endeared him to all in equal measure. He has nurtured, coached and created a pool of talented leaders within the organization to perpetuate the culture of service with a smile and dedicated customer orientation. Shetty is an excellent orator, social worker, a grand supporter of language, culture, folklore, an active sponsor for several sports, educational and institutional activities. There is hardly an event in which the name of UAE Exchange is not included. Such is the reach and support of this socially conscious financial institution, so well groomed and promoted by Shetty. As a further proof of their humanitarian activities, UAE Exchange is the main sponsor for the colourful brochure brought out high-lighting the self-less contributions of the various associations, which have organized the blood donation camp in Dubai over the last several years, pioneered by the unceasing efforts of another socially conscious person in Ganesh Rai.

By enacting the prominent role of King Marthanda Varma in the historic documentary of Travancore Province, Shetty has demonstrated another facet of his varied multi-talented personality.

Y Sudhir Shetty lives in Abu Dhabi along with his wife Sheila and their two daughters Sushiksha and Sushmika.

Achievements and honours

Awards

Y Sudhir Kumar Shetty conferred with Shihab Thangal Award by Mannar Abdul Latheef, KPCC Secretary on 23rd March 2013 at Indian Islamic Centre, Abu Dhabi.
Prestigious ‘Vishwamaanya Award’ lauded on the 9th Vishwa Kannada Samskruthi Sammelana 2012 (World Kannada Cultural Convention) held on December 14 and 15, 2012 at Abu Dhabi Indian School, declaring him as the most recognised person globally.
‘Global Personality Award’ presented by the chief minister of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram in May, 2012
‘Akshaya Global Award’ presented by the minister of Kerala, Dr Muneer, in December, 2011
RAKKEA Award for Commendable Contribution to Indian Society by Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah in 2009
 

As the COO of UAE Exchange, Sudhir Shetty received various awards including:

Banker Middle East Product Award
Dubai Quality Award
Dubai Service Excellence Scheme Award
The Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum Business Award
Dubai Human Development Appreciation Programme
Best Partner by Emirates National Development Programme
Dubai Service Excellence Scheme Award
UAE Emiratisation Award
Deutsche Bank STP Excellence Award
Customer Service Week Star Award
ISO 9001, 14001 and 27001 certification
Super brand Status for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012
Accredited with TISSE 2012 for excellence in Customer Service by The International Customer Service Institute (TICSI), United Kingdom.

Recognitions

Member - National Anti-Money Laundering Committee, Central Bank of the UAE
Elected as Vice Chairman of FERG, UAE
Has been a Treasurer of Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG), UAE
Has been elected as the President of the prestigious India Social and Cultural Centre (ISC), Abu Dhabi in 2009 with a thumping 82% majority.
Member of Indian Business and Professional Group (IBPG), UAE
Member of American Business Group (ABG), UAE
Australian Business Group (AusBG), UAE
Philippine Business Council (PBC), UAE
Has been a Member of Advisory Board of St. Joseph’s School, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Has been a Member of the Board of Abu Dhabi Indian School, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Member of Advisory Board of Innovative Development Centre for Educational Aptitude (IDEA)
Member of Advisory Board of Science India Forum (SIF)
Member of Advisory Board of University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD)
Has been elected as a Member of Zayed Cricket Academy, School’s Cricket Development Board (under Abu Dhabi Cricket Council), for the development of budding cricketers.
 

Educational and Professional Qualifications

Successfully completed the “Key Executive Program” at Harvard Business School, USA in October 2000.
He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and an additional degree in Commerce from the University of Mysore in India.
Founder member of Toastmasters, a leading movement dedicated to the improvement of communication and leadership skills among business executives. He has also been the President and sponsor of Toastmasters Club in UAE.
Was a President of the Rotaract Club, Mangalore.
Was a President of Rotary Club, Mangalore South.
Membership of various Executive and Business Councils in UAE.
A leading public figure, he delivers lectures at academic and business circles across the world.