Yachting Association of India has conferred its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on senior pharma entrepreneur Cesar Menezes
From a young age Cesar Menezes was handed responsibilities – small and large. A keen learner with a passion for deep diving into any subject, his ability to worked up the ladder made him take over the corporate responsibilities entrusted to him by his illustrious father, Pascoal Jose Menezes.
The Wallace Group and its associated companies, engaged in the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical formulations – has at its helm a Executive Chairman who is known for his qualities of the head and heart.
The Wallace Group concerns are present in every region of the country. The manufacturing is done in four factories owned by the group and located at Goa, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh and in another thirty contract manufacturing sites spread across India. The group markets hundreds of products and they reach every part of the country through 24 depots covering all states of India. The group directly employs over 2500 people all over India, the largest segment being in sales and marketing. Additionally, hundreds of people are indirectly employed through its ancillary activities.
César Menezes could carry the weight of heading of a large business organisation for a long time and the load always rested lightly on him. He had his grip on every function – be it sales, production, distribution, finance, purchase or human resources. His knowledge is not from textbooks and business schools but from his hard-earned experience. His managers say that however tense the business situation may have been, Menezes, with his cool and composed demeanour could manage to show the way in minutes. One of Cesar Menezes’ strength is to be in total control of his time. This makes him a business leader who likes to listen to all opinions, but keeps his own counsel. This also makes him take business decisions at a time that he chooses to. Nothing can rush him to a decision – more often than not, a studied and reasoned one.
Over the years, as a business leader with poise and integrity, Cesar Menezes has been looked upon as a senior statesman, guide and mentor by many. Heading industry bodies like Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry, Goa Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and the Goa Management Association – the hallmark of his leadership has always been to bat for the cause of the industry that he espouses. Never one to sugar coat his opinions, he is known to have taken up causes on strong grounds of principle and best practices. However, a gentleman of the old block that he is, his views and opinions rare come in the way of a relationship – within the business fraternity or outside.
Despite actively heading the businesses that he grew with dedication and efforts, Menezes took a voluntary decision two years ago to hand over the reins to his two daughters while he makes himself available to guide them as the Executive Chairman.
His personal interest and participation in sport is somewhat proverbial. He has been a participant and patron of various sports like yachting and rifle shooting. He has headed the Goa Yachting Association and the Boat Sailing Association for more than three decades. As if to highlight this feature of his personality, his 75th birthday celebrations were marked by a 75 Knot Sailing Regatta and Wind Surfing event in which he was himself a participant. This has now become an annual event. This year, the Yachting Association of India (YAI) conferred upon Cesar Menezes the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in India. This is an award not conferred annually but only when a fit case arises. What endears him to people the most is his human side. He is every inch a people’s man. Regardless of how big or how small the person he is speaking to, his approach is simple, direct and humane. The business community in the state is ecstatic as the sportsman in him has been feted and honoured at the highest level of Menezes’ chosen sport – yatching and sailing
Lifetime Achievement Award for Cesar Menezes
At the recently concluded AGM of the Yachting Association of India (YAI), the Life Time Achievement Award was conferred upon Cesar Menezes, President Emeritus of Goa Yachting Association (GYA) – for his outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in the country. As Menezes was travelling, the award was received on his behalf by his daughter Rashmi Menezes and son-in-law Vinay Pinto, at a glittering awards function held in New Delhi. The award was presented by President of YAI Adm. Sunil Lamba, retired Chief of Naval Staff.
The Life Time Achievement Award is the highest recognition for an individual’s contribution to the sport of sailing in India.
Cesar Menezes was instrumental in the formation of the Goa Yachting Association in 1973 and was its founding General Secretary. Menezes purchased many sail boats and got Goan youngsters into the sport of sailing. Goans soon started to excel in the enterprise class and the sport grew gradually.Menezes also participated in the state championships in the enterprise class and won the gold medal for several years. He represented Goa at the national championships in the enterprise class and put up a creditable performance. He organized the Enterprise World Championship in Goa in 1997 and again in 2002. Menezes also organized the OK Dinghy World Championship in association with the Army in 2003 in Goa.
Menezes has organized the Goa State Sailing Championship for almost 40 years and now for the past 5 years has been a part of the organizing committee as mentor and President Emeritus.
In 1980, when windsurfing became a popular sailing class abroad, Menezes formed the Windsurfing Association of India (later re-named as Board Sailing Association of India), and helped promote and popularize windsurfing in Goa and all over India. He hosted the first National Windsurfing Championship in Goa in February 1980. Over the years, Menezes purchased dozens of windsurfing boards and helped Goans excel in the sport. Due to his efforts, Goans have dominated the sport of windsurfing in India winning golds for more than three decades. He promoted, sponsored and organized the Boardsailing and RS:X class National Championships (currently called the All India Board Sailing Championship) for the past 35 years. Due to his efforts, several Goans represented India and won medals at the Asian and other International and World Championships. Many a times the entire expense of these international participations were borne by Menezes.
In the late 1980s Menezes saw the popularity of the Optimist class at the National level and realized the need to promote Optimist class sailing amongst young children in Goa, so as to provide them an early start in sailing. He purchased 7 Optimist sailboats and started the promotion of optimist class sailing in Goa. Within a short period of two years, Goan sailors made a mark at the National level, and soon won gold medals at the National Championships and represented India at International Championships. He organized the Optimists Nationals in Goa. Menezes’ singlehanded contribution to promotion of sailing in Goa, was recognized by the Govt of Goa, and he was awarded the highest State sports award, the “Jivbadada Kerkar Award” in the year 1994-95. He was on the Executive Committee of the Goa Olympic Association. Menezes was also elected to the Executive Council of Yachting Association of India, as the representative of the Boardsailing Association of India and served on the YAI Council for several years in the 1980s and 1990s.
Of late, Cesar Menezes saw that many of India’s earlier national and international Champions were now sailing in the Seabird class, but there were no competitions for them. In 2018, he decided to host the “75 Knots sailing regatta” for Masters, in the Windsurfing and Seabird class of boats, to bring back the old veterans of sailing together once again and sail together in a friendly competition. The Chief Guest at this event Late V. Adm. Manohar Awati at the age of 92 years travelled almost 600 kms by road to be a part of this event. He hosted all the veteran sailors in Goa, meeting all the expenses for their lodging and boarding in Goa, for transportation of Seabird boats from different parts of India to Goa and back, and all other championships expenses. The 75 Knots regatta was a grand success and won kudos from all the top sailors of yester years. In 2019, he once again hosted the 75 Knots regatta in Goa, on the popular demand of the master sailors To make this event even bigger and better he also sponsored and supported GYA to simultaneously host a Multi Class National Ranking Event so that the youngsters could interact with the veterans and their experience could percolate to the new generation. The championships were a grand success and won high praise not only from the sailors, but also from members of the International jury, and the representatives from YAI, SAI and INSA. Cesar Menezes’ yeomen service to promotion of Yachting in Goa and India over the past 45 years, has been recognized at the state and National level and is unsurpassed in the annals of Yachting in Goa and India
