Our honoured guests, my dear colleagues, my loving family, ladies & gentlemen,

NAMASTE & WELCOME to the 25^th Anniversary celebrations of Alex Stewart India.

It is indeed an honour and a proud privilege for me to be here today amongst all of you on the happy occasion of the company’s silver jubilee anniversary and reflect on the incredible journey of the company over the past 25 years.

I would like to begin by paying homage to the founder of the Alex Stewart Group, Mr. Kenneth Alexander Stewart, more fondly known as “ALEX” to whom we owe the honour of creating this company, which has been our second home for the last 25 years. He was a visionary, a sound professional of unwavering integrity, an excellent leader and a global citizen. He believed in his people all over the world and placed his absolute trust on those that deserved it.

It was in August 1999 that he travelled to India and placed his trust and confidence on 4 individual professionals to sow the seed of the Alex Stewart brand in India. The company was successfully registered in Mumbai on 24^th Dec 1999 in the turn of the millenium and there was no looking back after that. The new millenium brought a new era for Alex Stewart India and the Alex Stewart Group. After obtaining statutory approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Govt. of India, Alex invested generously into the Indian company that earned the trust of the industry very quickly and grew from strength to strength.

On this important milestone and proud moment, I would like to remember and pay respect to those stalwarts and co-founders of the Indian company, Mr. Allen Fernandes, Capt. Satish Kulkarni and Capt. Brijesh Midha who had the courage to leave their respective employments and take up the challenge of making Alex’s dream a success in India. Though the said co-founders have subsequently, either moved on to other enterprises or retired from service, we will never forget their invaluable contribution to the formation of this company for which we extend our sincere gratitude.

We are fortunate to have with us today my good friend and co-founder, Mr. Allen Fernandes along with his wife Patrice, who was always stood by his side especially in the nascent stage of the company when times were difficult. Together they are one of the loveliest couples that I have known! Thank You Allen & Patrice! Ladies & Gentlemen ……… please join me in giving them a big round of applause.

At this juncture, I also wish to thank my wife Janet, who worked untiringly during the first year of this company to help me set up the Chennai office and assist me with the administration. Thank You Janet!

I would like invite Janet to present to you a small poem that she has written for this memorable day!

……………………….. ...................  Janet  Poem  ……………………………................

ASII – 25 years
We are young at heart and in age
Doing what we do best,
Inspections, loss assessing, testing
All without rage.
It’s been a long journey
Which began in a room
With a phone and computer
And a few youngsters to groom.
Taking up the challenge
Was a thrill from the start
Working hard
With mind and heart.
With gratitude to God for all His love,
And faith in clients also, sent from above.
Our growth has been good over the years,
So we celebrate our 25th today, with fellowship and cheers!

I am also thankful to my children, Rahul & Devika for putting up with my busy schedule during the formative years of the company that may have deprived them of quality family time. Thank you, Rahul & Devika!

After the completion of one year in March 2001, Alex visited Mumbai to celebrate the company’s first anniversary at this very venue. He also visited the Chennai and Visakhapatnam, which were by that time fully operational. He visited these locations and interacted actively with the company employees and clients. Alex always believed that his people were his most valuable assets.

From those early days of uncertainty, with faith and hope as our guiding lights, we have built the company to what it is today with 12 offices that are ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 17020 accredited, 4 laboratories that are ISO 17025 accredited and a family of about 200 dedicated members serving a wide cross section of clients in the shipping, insurance / P&I, metals, precious metals, solid fuels, vegetable oils and agricultural industries across the globe under the leadership of new Directors, Mr. K.V.A. Murty and Capt. Collin Lopes. This was possible only because of the dedication, hard work, sincerity and unwavering commitment of every individual who has been a part of this journey. I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all the present and past members of the Alex Stewart India family for their passion, resilience and their belief in what we do.

Many a times in this journey over the last 25 years, the company has faced difficult situations that we tackled together and overcame. Any journey is rarely smooth sailing all the way, I am sure that we will face difficulties even in the future, but I am confident that with the strength that we draw from the blessings of the Almighty above, together we will overcome.

To our clients, we are immensely grateful to you for believing in us, for entrusting us with your valuable assignments and important responsibilities, pardoning our mistakes and giving us renewed opportunities and your unwavering support all along the way. Our sincere thanks to all our clients past & present for being a part of our success story.  

Today we continue to forge ahead under the able leadership of Alex’s son, Graham Stewart who is the Chairman & Chief Executive of the Alex Stewart International worldwide operating out of the company’s Group Head Office in Liverpool. Under his leadership the Alex Stewart Group has grown manifold in leaps and bounds over the last 5 years.

As we celebrate this milestone, let’s continue to move forward with the same spirit of innovation, dedication, integrity and sound team work that has defined us right from the beginning.

Thank you all for being a part of this adventure and here’s to many more years of growth and success together.

We would like to share with you a short video clip that our IT department has prepared for this memorable occasion

Thank you and God bless!