On the Cover

Clarence Fernandes (born January 1, 1956) in Mumbai, India, is the Chairman of Rwanda Renaissance, Managing Director of Marketing (India) Pvt. Ltd, and co-Chairman of Tourism and Hospitality Committee, India Merchants Chamber. After visiting Kigali in June 2008 to attend the 1st East African Investment Conference, Fernandes developed a very strong bond with Rwanda and her people. He has since organized programmes like “ Rwanda – A New African Dawn “ and “ Vision Beyond Sight “ with the aim of spreading a greater awareness for the country in India and also to help the visually impaired of Rwanda. As Chairman, Rwanda Renaissance, he is presently working with Government agencies to set up a workshop for the blind in Kigali. So, who is Fernandes? First, he graduated from the University of Mumbai in 1976 securing his Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Chemistry. He has worked in various capacities and places among them J.L.Morison, Son and Jones (India) Limited in charge of warehousing and distribution. He then joined the hospitality industry working with leading hotels at the resort destination of Goa where he rose to become General Manager-Marketing for Choice Hotels India, which is part of the American Hotel Chain – Choice Hotels International. From 1997, Fernandes has been the Managing Director of the marketing and public relations company, Clavin Marketing (India) Pvt. Ltd which has served the likes of SRS-WorldHotels, the Hong Kong Tourist Association, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Malaysia Industrial Development Authority, Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board, Polish Tourist Organization and even the Ministry of the Economy, Regional Government of Extremadura, Spain. In the last fourteen months, Fernandes was with FirstRand Bank, India as a Marketing and Public Relations Consultant. During his assignment with the Bank, he was also the Secretary of the South Africa Business Forum (India) and independently handled all communications and secretarial functions of the Forum. Fernandes has been invited as a Guest Speaker for several International Conferences and Seminars and has won several awards. Ends