Eastbound Group, a conglomerate offering a diversified portfolio of travel and tourism services, launched its experiential trade engagement event series ‘Eastbound Connect’ on 24th January 2020 at Hotel Le Meridien, Gurgaon. The first chapter of EBC Series featured Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani, CEO & Founder, Thyrocare.
Elaborating on the Eastbound Connect series, Amit Kishore, Co-founder and Director at Eastbound Group said: “The event is about the responsibility we take as a stakeholder of the travel industry and the importance we see in collaborative development. It is very heartening that we opened and closed to a full house in the first chapter itself. The event portfolio would eventually include multiple areas of knowledge, skills and leadership development.”
Speaking on the same lines, Prrithviraj Singh, Co-founder & Director at Eastbound Group chimed in, “This initiative emerges from a conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there. It’s an individual commitment to a group effort that is what makes a team work, a company work, an industry work and a society work. This is our endeavour as a group to expand our circle of influence and present an industry platform for learning and networking.”
Manish Pratik, Co-founder & Director at Eastbound Group concluded, “The objective is not just business, but overall leadership development and motivation within the industry eco-system. While we have kicked off the first chapter of Eastbound Connect Series in Delhi, we would be taking the event to cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai in future where the company has a strong presence and large stakes.”
At the maiden show of Eastbound Connect Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani, delivered a thought provoking session titled ‘Focus, Learn, Grow & Enjoy’ citing examples from his inspirational journey led by determination, belief and consistency.
Dr. Velumani was born to a landless farmer in the village of Appanaickenpatti Pudur near Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in April 1959. Rearing buffaloes and selling their milk was the only source of income for his family. There were days when the family went without eating food.
“That experience taught me patience. It taught me to value the simple treasures of life. I genuinely believe that poverty is a gift. It prepares you for life. It teaches you to be fearless and to survive and sustain on your own. The learnings I received while growing up not only guided me in my personal life but also enabled me to excel professionally,” said Dr. Velumani at the event.
After completing his school from the same village, he graduated in B.Sc. at the age of 19. He worked as a shift chemist in a small pharmaceutical company before joining Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) as a laboratory assistant. During his 14 year long tenure of working with BARC, he completed his Master’s as well as his Doctor’s degree, rising to the rank of a scientist.
“When I was studying in college, I didn’t even have enough money to pay for my Maths and Chemistry classes. If it wouldn’t have been for a professor of mine who provided for my education then, I wouldn’t have been here delivering this speech,” he said.
Today, Dr. Velumani owns and operates Thyrocare, a brand worth over Rs. 3000 crores and is the 149th richest man in India as reported by Businessworld. Under his leadership, Thyrocare has become the largest thyroid testing laboratory with a network of more than 1000 outlets across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Middle East.
When asked what is the best advice he has received in his life? Dr. Velumani promptly replied, “Frugality. It is the most important lesson that I’ve learned. No matter how successful you become, valuing frugality and simplicity is a lifelong balance one must maintain.”
An extremely evocative and relatable speaker, Dr. Velumani concluded the session with an interactive dialogue with the audience and received a resounding applause from the enchanted full house.
