The 36th meeting was held for a change, first- time at a club venue, in aptly called, “Stroke-side” function- room of 147-year old rowing club of Chennai.
The meeting featured newly set-up UKIBC’s British Business Centre at Bangalore and in Gurgoan/ Connaught Place at Delhi. UK India Business Council promotes UK-India trade and business, facilitating trade through B2B dialogue and offers services of business centres. Arun Naranyan-Director, presented his centre and services at Bangalore followed by Rohit Singh from Delhi who heads market entry and research for new businesses from UK. UKIBC has been established in London since 2007, with UKTI funding
Company presentation of our member, Anand and Anand was presented by Shaan Katari Libby, Senior Associate covering Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and setting out her firm’s offerings
Earlier, the Chairman spoke about the relevance and value of brands, both in India and world-wide (top 100 valued at US$2.6 trillion) The big guru in the religion of branding was UK’s Wally Olins (passed away in April 2014). His key insight – brands are integral and long-term to any strategy for products and services. Two truths recognised by Olins about our materialistic modern economy – first, most precious resource is people’s attention and second, consumers are not looking just for utility – they look for meaning (in absence of real spirituality, forget religion). The idea of what a brand stands for is a great substitute – like Nike’s Just do It!
The formal meeting was followed by lively fellowship amongst 50+ attendees joined by our Patron, Bharat Joshi, British Deputy High Commissioner over club-fare / wines & beers
On 8th August 2014, the BBG Goa membership hosted a touching farewell to their President, Beryl Nasse who had been the mainstay of this Group since inception in 2007.
Beryl had brought together the small resident British community in Goa with some UK related business folks. She had created relations with the Goa Chamber and local business community as also with two business incubation centres.
She had for some years served as BDHC’s Warden in Goa and one of her big achievements was the 1st mobile UK Visa Unit. She was also great at organising the very first BBG National Conference in Goa (while undergoing chemotherapy).
Beryl had also got Chennai to bring a delegation into Goa as a first useful Inter-BBG meeting with Goa Chamber and other business interactions.
Our Christie Cherian and Ravi Kumar who both got to know her well were present at the event. Christie spoke of how she brought a bit of England and a sense of English-ness to a part of India which had been a Portugese colony for 400+ years. All our thoughts and prayers go with her as she leaves for UK mid-August.
We conducted our AGM on 24th of July 2014 and you can find the pictires and Chairman’s Annual Report below.
Membership – 39 new members
We had 134 members last year and now have 153 (ambitious target of 175 missed). We do lose members in normal course with transfers/ dropping membership/ closures – lost 20 members last year. Adding new members is a priority area with the objective to reach critical mass of 200 members. All our Committee work hard to bring new members and we are grateful to Jamie Cribb and now Tammy Sandhu and their colleagues in UKTI / BDHC in introducing new arrivals.
Monthly Meetings / Committee sittings
12 monthly meetings and networking sessions were held, aside from visiting delegations and meetings with other foreign chambers. Your Committee met monthly to keep activities happening and in handling plans of delegations/ web-site development/ guest speakers /event planning. Good event was the Christmas Party of 5th Dec 2013
Charitable Donations
We continued to make donations for 3 good causes
Web-site: www.bbgchennai.org
The web-site has been a useful tool in the work Chennai has done in supporting other BBGs in Hyderabad and Bangalore. More recently, it helped garner interest with over 50 potential members for the new BBG in Kolkata under plans to launch in September 2014
We wish to see more contributions of items of Indo-British interest from all our members, not just covering business but also education and culture and development
New BBGs
We continue to support Gerry Duggan, our member based in Hyderabad with advice and assistance to keep BBG Hyderabad active (not easy as less numbers of UK companies and persons operating there) – membership: 25
We also instigated conveners in Bangalore to start BBG Bangalore in July 2013 – it took them several months to generate memberships and 3 meetings held since – membership at 30, growing
We have been in contact with UK companies in Kolkata to see if we could push for a BBG in that city. Through our member, Fox Mandal contacts were made and an introductory meeting held on 23rd May 2014. This is leading to a launch in September 2014.which will be the 9th BBG in India
A new BBG was revived in Ahmedabad since mid-2013 and have membership of 25 – we have established contacts
UKIBC India activities
We in Chennai have not had too much interface with UKIBC India as their developments have been in Delhi and Mumbai. In Delhi, an impressive British Business Centre was opened in Gurgaon with a satellite centre in Connaught Place, Delhi under Richard McCullum, CEO
In July 13, they opened a Centre in Hosur Road, Bangalore and one is under development/ fit-outs in Kurla, Mumbai
For launch later this year.
In Chennai, they expect to meet us in August 2013/ The Chairman and Peter Spackman visited UKIBC in London on 10th July 14
Other activities with BDHC / UKTI and other related groups
We work closely with both BDHC and with UKTI – useful regular meetings have taken place and continue. Additionally, the following major connections and activities took place
– 3rd National Conference Mumbai 20/21 September 2013
– FCO meeting Oct 2013
– Meetings with AmCham and Indo-German Chamber
– Basildon Council visit Oct 2013 and July 2014
– In January 2014, 8 members delegation went to Dubai and Meet with BBG Dubai and also Dubai chamber of Commerce
– In November 2013, 4 members delegation went to Goa
– UK Tamilnadu Chamber Conference in Parliament, London 8 May 14 – attended by Bharat Joshi & Christie Cherian
– British SI Chamber meeting in Parliament, London promoting South India business on 10th July 2014
BBG Committee
The BBG Committee such as ours works on voluntary basis and membership in the initial years of setting-up such groups is on an invitation basis. Members of the Committee contribute their time and skills and introduce new members/ bring speakers/ arrange events and sponsor/ fund activities and most important they work together in a team. I thank each of our Committee for all their help and availability in making another successful BBG year in Chennai. With this I add my word of appreciation to our Patron, Bharat Joshi and all his staff at BDHC and UKTI for their continued support
Christie Cherian
BBG Chennai Trust
