Despite the O° temperature about 20 members attended the launch of the reactivated Toronto chapter of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) on January 2, 2019. Toronto becomes the second chapter in Canada, the seventh chapter in North America and the 15th global chapter of the WZCC to become functional, notes an email from the global president Edul Daver.
"Toronto has the highest concentration of Zoroastrians in North America and it is critical that we have a vibrant and sustainable chapter for the benefit of our community,” remarked Daver. Wishing the "retrofitted and reenergized” Toronto chapter a "running start,” Daver expected it "to generate momentum and assure long-term success and sustainability” by providing the local community the opportunity to do business with each other, network, offer learning and educational opportunities, mentor and encourage entrepreneurial endeavors.
Above (from l): Cyrus Patel, Arashasp Shroff,
Meherwan Wadia; alongside: Mahyar Hansotia
Chapter chair Cyrus Patel is currently an independent retailer with Shell Canada, operating four Shell stations in Mississauga, notes the press release from WZCC introducing the elected office bearers and giving a report on the chapter’s first meeting. Patel’s past experience in the corporate field was as business and operations manager for a major car rental company. Prior to that he worked with the Ontrario Provincial Police as a civilian in the Criminal Investigation Branch. Besides mentoring newcomers to Canada to gain entry into the workforce with requisite knowledge and training, he provides employment opportunities in his company to individuals with physical or mental challenges. As a service to the Parsi community he is currently working on an app whereby Zoroastrians in the diaspora can see/hear on their smartphone/laptop prayer services being conducted in Bombay.
Toronto chapter secretary Arashasp Shroff also serves as the secretary for the Ontario chapter. He works as a restaurant manager and sommelier (professional wine steward) at the CN Tower and oversees a beverage program worth over a million dollars. Shroff who runs his own website, The View from Table 3, to empower young hospitality professionals around the globe, has received the Wines of Spain Award, Future Leader of the Industry Award, and was nominated for the Ontario Institute of Hospitality Top 30 Under 30 Award. He has also been invited to sit on the Professional Advisory Committee for George Brown College.
Treasurer Meherwan Wadia is a senior automation analyst at Tata Consultancy Services. He pursues his dual designations, Professional Scrum Master and Project Management Professional, to perform his consultancy roles within the financial and information technology sectors. His specialty includes quality assurance in software development, cyber security, big data, micro services, machine learning, internet of things, financial crimes and anti money laundering in agile, hybrid and waterfall methodologies. A disc jockey officiating at private and corporate functions as also at fashion shows, his enterprise Atash Entertainment and Theater Systems specializes in consultancy and installations for commercial audio/video. He is the chairperson for the Information Technology and Long Term Planning Committee of the Zoroastrian Society of Ontario and officiates as chief audiovideo engineer for the Toronto Parsi Drama Group.
After the introductions by Afreed Mistry who along with Xerxes Wania and Dilnavaz Shroff have volunteered as advisors to the Toronto board, there were two presentations organized for the Chapter’s opening meeting. The first was by the Royal Bank of Canada whose representatives stressed on understanding the Canadian business culture and their commitment in providing relevant information, resources and guidance. The second presentation by Mahyar Hansotia, president and owner of Sobel and Company, gave an overview of the four types of businesses depending on their ownership and stressed the need for an entrepreneur to partner with an accountant and a lawyer whom one could depend on. He also forewarned prospective businessmen about the hard work and stress that accompanied rising financial returns and reminded them that they will always have a boss — the customer!
The second WZCC chapter in Canada, is in Vancouver. The North American chapters additionally comprise those in Southern California, Houston, Chicago, Central Florida and New York. Besides chapters in Bombay, Poona and Bangalore in India, there are chapters in London, Tehran, Dubai, Hong Kong and Sydney.