Media Release

Mangaluru, Nov 13: Walter D’Souza, leading industrialist and exporter, was conferred with the coveted ‘MMA-KVK outstanding Manager Award 2109’ in a glittering function held at Hotel Ocean Pearl on November 10.

M S Mahabaleshwar, MD and CEO of Karnataka Bank was the chief guest and honoured the awardee. Speaking on the occasion, Mahabaleshwar lauded the initiatives of MMA in promoting the cause of managerial excellence in DK and Udupi districts. He said Walter D’Souza is indeed an icon of this city and he well deserved the award for his immense contribution to the growth of exports from India and also to the cashew industry.

Responding to the honour, Walter D’Souza quoted the words of late TMA Pai and aid, “Honouring an individual is not for the sake of the recipient for a particular award or honour but it is to make sure that hundreds of people can draw inspiration from his leadership and emulate it and come up in society.” He projected the global raw cashew nut production to be of the order of 5 million metric tons by 2025 and cross 10 million metric tons by 2030 from the current figure of 3 million metric tons. He opined that the exponential growth in production will throw open new opportunities at every level of the supply and value chains

Marcel Monteiro, president of MMA welcomed the gathering. Jairaj Rai, vice president, read the citation. Dr Devaraj explained the criteria of the award. Dr Narayan Kayarkatte, treasurer, conducted the felicitation of various individuals and institutions supporting MMA. Dr Gayathri Babu, joint secretary, proposed vote of thanks.