About Us
The Motivation for Excellence Initiative (MFE) , registered as The RG Manudhane Foundation for Excellence, was set up as a legacy to society by the late R.G.MANUDHANE (1921-2012)- a quiet, self-made, ‘rags-to-riches’ man whose life exemplified a continuous striving for values-based excellence.
Our Founder & Visionary
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/oneeleven_224x298.jpg)
R.G. Manudhane (1921-2012)
Who believed in the relentless pursuit of excellence
Former Trustee
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DSC_4349-1-224x298-1.jpg)
Shailaja Asave (1952 – 2023)
Was the heart and soul of MFE.
Meet the Team
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AVI-MANUDHANE-NASH.webp)
AVI MANUDHANE NASH
Chairman
Mr. Avi Nash founded a firm that has advised many of the world’s leading chemical companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and strategy and also heads an investment-advisory firm. Earlier he was a partner at Goldman Sachs, where he helped lead the firm’s global chemical industry effort, and mentored numerous senior professionals. Avi served as director of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, a global Fortune 500 multinational providing high purity ingredients used in pharmaceutical and diagnostic applications. Besides MFE he heads the US based Indira Foundation which supports charitable activities in the US and India. Avi has an M.B.A. from Northwestern University, an M.Sc. from Syracuse University, and a B.Tech. from IIT-Bombay, which named him a Distinguished Alumnus
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/VIVEK-RAGAVAN.webp)
VIVEK RAGAVAN
Trustee
Mr. Vivek Ragavan is a telecommunications networking industry veteran and seasoned entrepreneur with more than 35 years of high-technology leadership experience. He has served as president and CEO of private and public companies and as a board member of many private companies in this industry. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, as a board member of the Akanksha Fund in the US, and as a trustee of the Motivation for Excellence (MFE) Initiative. Vivek received his B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Northwestern University, his M.Sc. in electrical engineering from Cornell University and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area.
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/NICK-NASH-1.webp)
NICK NASH
Trustee
Mr. Nick Nash is president of Garena, a fast growing Singapore based technology company. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s working group on local capital markets integration, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, a member of the Singapore Chapter of the Young President’s Organisation and a member of the global Kauffman Society. Earlier he spent more than a decade with GA, most recently as the CEO of GA’s Southeast Asia business. Prior to GA, Nick was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. He received an M.B.A. from Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in chemistry and physics, magna cum laude. In 1996 he was named a United States Presidential Scholar. He and his wife co-founded Morph.org, whose first effort, the global Ramanujan Project, identifies and nurtures exceptional mathematics talent in emerging markets such as India.
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DR.-NILIMA-RAGAVAN-1.webp)
DR. NILIMA RAGAVAN
Trustee
Dr. Nilima Ragavan is the medical director of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Special Care Nursery, an attending neonatologist at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Ragavan received her medical degree at Grant Medical College in Mumbai. She completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital and her fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital. Dr. Ragavan has led several multidisciplinary medical teams to India and partnered with physicians to provide education and improve services. She and her husband Vivek Ragavan have three children and live in Portola Valley in California.
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ANAND-BANG-1.webp)
Dr. ANAND BANG
Trustee
Dr. Anand Bang, Physician and Public health specialist, works with the NGO SEARCH, focussing on public health research, training and service to the tribal & rural communities in Gadchiroli. He is also the Advisor with the Tata Trusts, the oldest philanthropic organization in India.
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1718390429704-300x300.jpg)
SANDEEP KABRA
Trustee
Sandeep Kabra is the managing director of Suhans Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. He is active in Rotary and has held various leadership positions in the organization. He regularly undertakes Rotary global grant service projects. He has been recognized as a major donor by Rotary. He is the Chairman of a charitable educational institute Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Jalgaon Kendra. He is on the board of directors of Indian Red Cross Society Jalgaon, which runs the largest chartable blood bank in the region.
Advisors
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1718390304566-300x300.jpg)
NILESH NIMKAR
Advisor
Nilesh Nimkar has over 23 years of experience in the field of early childhood education, elementary education, teacher education, and curriculum development. He has initiated several innovative programs for teachers and children, especially in the rural and tribal areas. He is the founder trustee and director of Quality Education Support Trust. He has received the Maharashtra Foundation Award for ‘Outstanding social work in the field of education.
![](https://motivationforexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Untitled-1-1-300x300.webp)
GIRISH SOHANI
Advisor
Girish has over 40 years’ experience in Natural Resource Management and Rural livelihoods. His work in the area of rural development ranges across interventions in Village Production Systems, Appropriate Technology, Agribusiness and nurturing Farmer Producer Organisations. He has also been involved in work on Sustainable Development, Circular Economy, Interdisciplinary Programme Management. On the policy and advocacy front, Girsh’s contribution involves Institutional Development, Governance and Strategic Planning. He is also a recipient of the “Distinguished Alumnus Award 2011” by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in recognition of outstanding contributions to Rural and Community Development.