The founder and chief executive of fast-growing shipmanagement company Synergy Marine Group comes from relatively humble beginnings in a small village in the Indian state of Kerala, on the Malabar Coast.
While he was a student, Captain Rajesh Unni was accepted into medical school but decided on a career at sea to relieve his parents of the financial burden of putting him through medical school.
Philanthropic passion
Now 48, and based in Chennai, he is still very much aware of the inequalities faced by the less well-off and spends much of his spare time working with philanthropic and charitable organisations.
“It is a personal interest,” he said. “I came from a small village and saw huge income inequality, and this is something that I could not comprehend."
Unni involves his wife, son Pranav and his employees in his charity efforts.
“As a parent, I can give my son a good education and share my life experience with him," he said. "But I also want to instil the right value system in him, and show him what real life looks like. For the staff, it is something that we can align with and feel connected.”
Synergy Educational and Charitable Trust (SECT) was set up in India in 2011 with the objective to alleviate poverty and empower communities to build a stronger and better place for tomorrow. SECT supports campaigns such as the right to education, right to food and programmes for empowering women, among others.
The Government to Citizen Changemakers Foundation aims to bring all stakeholders in social issues — from non-profit organisations to corporate groups — to work with the government. The project involves the delivery of healthcare services in hard-to-reach locations, a mobile school for children with special needs, a cancer society for women and help for those suffering mental illness, destitution and homelessness.
The Cochin Cancer Society, of which Unni is a trustee, supports poor and needy cancer patients, with a special focus on children.
Through Synergy Marine, Unni has set up three organisations that have launched 37 initiatives impacting more than 40,000 individuals worldwide. The Philippines, Cambodia, India, Singapore, Liberia, the US and Africa are some of the countries and continents that are engaged in the programmes (see factbox, right).
Synergy Marine also held a half-marathon fundraising event in Cebu last November, which attracted 1,500 runners and raised close to $600,000 for the Philippine Accessible Disability Services' sports and recreational rehabilitation centre.
Unni does not only contribute financially, but also gets into “role play” to better understand the communities he is helping. On a trip to Cambodia, for example, he elected to live among a community of ragpickers — a term for someone who makes a living by rummaging through refuse-collection material for salvage — to better understand their needs.
He said: “I stayed inside a village for two days and lived like them. Unless you understand the pain these people go through, you will never be able to empathise [with] them. You need to know them before you can come up with good ideas to help them.”
The welfare and mental health of seafarers are also high on Unni’s agenda. He is behind the creation of iCALL, a free helpline for the worldwide maritime community that is available 24 hours a day, six days a week.
Preventing suicide
“This service is open to all seafarers irregardless of which company they work in,” Unni said. “The whole motive of iCall is to prevent any suicide from taking place.”
Unless you understand the pain that these people go through, you will never be able to empathise [with] them
Synergy Marine Group chief executive Captain Rajesh Unni
Synergy Marine has also established a fund for crew who have been declared unfit for sea service but lack adequate insurance. This financial assistance is to help seafarers and their families to establish a sustainable alternative income.
The company has employed a former chief engineer, who was paralysed during duty, to work ashore.
“He has a lot of experience and he just needed another opportunity,” Unni said. “To be able to see him making progress and adding value to himself, it brings me real joy.”
Unni’s commitment to society is lauded by his staff and friends, but it has brought a backlash.
“Some industry peers have made comments like ‘Unni is not involved in his business. He is more engaged in charity’.
“Fair enough on commitment to community works, but I can put my hand on my heart and say that I am also very involved in my business. You can ask my team.
Sense of purpose
“It's high time business needs to think 'social'. If there is no real purpose in benefiting society, then I am not sure what kind of business one is trying to promote.”
He also said his strong and reliable team is a factor in allowing him to spend time on social work.
“As a leader, you need to be surrounded by people who are actually much better than you; who have a diverse way of thinking and who are always willing to challenge the status quo.
“You also need to have the maturity to accept feedback as a gift. Only then can you build a unique culture of trust and transparency.
“At the end of the day, when you walk out of a meeting, you must be very clear that the best idea wins. It does not matter where it comes from, and you also need to allow people to fail.”
