Late Mr.Vasu Chanchlani (born July 1, 1952 -September 7, 2014) was an Indo-Canadian serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and trans-nations builder. He is co-founder of the Sigma Group of Companies and a founding member of the Canada India Foundation. He is also an investor in dozens of companies globally consisting of start-ups and turn-arounds. He is best known for his efforts towards improving Canada-India relations through his philanthropic activities and engagement with Indian Diaspora to serve bilateral interests of both Canada and India. Most recently, Vasu was awarded the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants award by the Canadian Immigrant magazine (a Toronto Star Publication). On January 9, 2014, His Excellency Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of the Republic of India, conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), the highest honour bestowed on non-resident Indians, by the Government of India.
Mr. Chanchlani did his Masters in Industrial and Management Engineering from the IIT Kanpur ,and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada. He began his career with Tata Consultancy Services in India, and moved to Canada in 1979. He began working with Nortel, eventually becoming the Senior Manager of Information Services before starting his own business.
Mr. Vasu Chanchlani established his private Canadian charitable foundation, the Chanchlani Foundation in early 2000s.Chanchlani's philanthropic efforts are guided by the motto to "inspire people and reward global excellence". He has made serious financial contributions for supporting path-breaking health and public policy research as well as nurturing entrepreneurship and leveraging New Canadians' success and influence for deeper and gainful engagement between Canada and India.
Mr. Chanchlani's philanthropic initiatives are numerous and include the CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award, Chanchlani India Policy Centre at University of Waterloo, Chanchlani Research Centre at University of McMaster to understand causes of heart disease and diabetes among South Asians, Chanchlani Global Health Research Award and the Chanchlani Global Vision Research Award with CNIB.
Mr. Vasu Chanchlani was conferred with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2012 from IIT Kanpur
