Our Founders

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Dr. K. M. Vasudevan Pillai, Founder, Chairman and CEO, MES

Dr. K. M. Vasudevan Pillai is the founder of the Pillai Group of Institutions and the Chairman and CEO of the Mahatma Education Society.

Dr. K. M. Vasudevan Pillai is many things to many people, but at best he is a pioneer, an entrepreneur and a social reformer who believes that education need not know any boundaries of growth. In a career spanning 40 years, Dr. Pillai has created over 48 institutions, from schools and colleges to professional colleges and teacher training institutes. He employs 2000 teachers and 1000 support staff and educates over 30,000 students per annum. With the zeal of a visionary he has ventured into areas of incipient development and has worked tirelessly to enhance the infrastructure of the region and to upgrade the socio-economic status of the residents. With equal perseverance, he has sought to challenge old ideas and outdated policies, replacing them with globally-relevant and dynamic concepts of education.

A relentless traveler, Dr. Pillai visits and interacts with several renowned educational institutes in the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, Australia, China and Singapore. His global interactions have led him to identify and introduce several need-based initiatives into the Indian education system. In felicitating Dr. Pillai for his long-standing contribution to education at home and overseas, the Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University called him a “social institutional engineer”. No eulogy is better deserved, for Dr. Pillai has always sought to put the interests of the community and the nation before himself. “Empowerment through education” remains his single-minded and most actively-pursued dream for India’s youth. read more…

Dr. Daphne Pillai, Secretary, MES

Dr. Daphne Pillai is the co-founder of the Pillai Group of Institutions and the Secretary and Managing Trustee of the Mahatma Education Society.

Starting off as a Junior College lecturer in English Literature, Dr. Daphne Pillai rose to becoming head of the English department at one of Mumbai’s leading colleges. Even while she met the challenges of this exacting post, she coordinated a state-wide debate competition and edited the college journal. Simultaneously, in her capacity as visiting faculty, she taught business communication at the Pillai Institute of Management Studies and Research. With her entry into the Pillai Group of Institutions, she brought her experience and wisdom to the management of over 48 institutions. As Principal of the Pillai College of Arts, Science and Commerce, she ensured accreditation in record time and secured for the institution an A-rating.

A key participant in the Pillai Group expansion program, Dr. Daphne Pillai sees herself as both, a custodian of old-world values and an initiator of new-generation change. To this purpose she is involved in several research activities, in implementing curriculum and policy changes, and in ushering in community initiatives for meaningful social change. She is the Founder-President of Soroptimist International, Chembur Sector, a women’s service organization that enjoys a seat in the United Nations. In her role as President, she had implemented several model projects, including a school for tribal children and a literacy drive for women in slums. It is this kind of social consciousness that she hopes to instill in the students of the Pillai Group of Institutions. read more…