Jain International Trade Organization Launches San Francisco Chapter
The chapter’s objective is to promote economic empowerment, growth, and social service of its members and the Jain community at large, the organization said in a July 16 news release.
More than 250 Jain professionals and leaders attended the launch of the chapter. Among the dignitaries at the event included Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran, California Assemblyman Ash Kalra, JITO APEX India chair and Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. chair and managing director Motilal Oswal, JITO International Wing chair Sanjay Lodha, and JITO USA chair and JAINA former president Prem Jain, among others.More than 250 Jain professionals and leaders attended the launch of the chapter. Among the dignitaries at the event included Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran, California Assemblyman Ash Kalra, JITO APEX India chair and Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. chair and managing director Motilal Oswal, JITO International Wing chair Sanjay Lodha, and JITO USA chair and JAINA former president Prem Jain, among others.
In the last 10 years, JITO has established many credible benchmarks in the vast landscape of professional and social organizations. With 66 chapters and more than 7000 members, JITO is the single largest worldwide organization of prominent Jain business people, industrialists, entrepreneurs and professionals in India and abroad, the organization noted.
Virsec Systems senior vice president Kamlesh Mehta made opening remarks at the event, in which he shared his views on challenges faced by new immigrants today and how JITO can provide opportunities by connecting with other members. He spoke on the importance of understanding the impact of new technology applications, promoting entrepreneurship, creating a platform of mentioned growth of JITO globally from one chapter to eleven chapters in the last 12 months driven by global interest and synergy.
Prem Jain, who is also the founder and chief executive of Pensando Systems, shared his view on the importance of a united community to connect and communicate. He presented several areas where more work is needed that will benefit the Jain community worldwide. He suggested that the members of JITO International work together to help structure JITO USA.Dr. Sushil Jain, CEO and founder of Refractive Surgical Captain, who has worked closely with presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama, as well as several members of Congress, stressed the importance of legislative advocacy.
Oswal expressed his support of the new Silicon Valley JITO chapter, emphasizing its power of networking. He cited the unprecedented growth of JITO in India as an example of how it will benefit the community.
Ravi Mhatre, founder and managing partner of Lightspeed Venture Partners, stressed the importance of service. The Lightspeed venture firm, a global venture power house, focuses on enterprise technology and supporting businesses that have great ideas and helping them turn into world class products. According to him, technology is a core engine that is driving economic prosperity and expanding the GDP of many countries, JITO said.
Lev Mass, general partner at VC firm Crux Capital, previous chief operating officer of the cloud business group at Yahoo, and co-founder of Hortonworks, discussed the potential of a community of entrepreneurs working together, using the global professional success of Jewish communities as an example. While Jains should stick together, he also described the importance of inclusivity and diversifying community networks to encourage growth, JITO said.
Others who spoke at the event included Visa vice president Nirmal Baid who interviewed philanthropist Mohini Jain, as well as Mudit Jain, a well-known expert in the medical industry and past chairman of TAI firm.