Robert Chandran

[Watchman]

Robert Chandran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

<--- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Chandran

Robert Viswanathan Chandran (May 31, 1950 – January 7, 2008)[1] was an Indian-born Singaporean business executive, and the founder and CEO of the Chemoil company.

Chandran was born in 1950 in Mumbai, India. He unsuccessfully applied to study medicine at the University of Madras, but instead undertook a Master's degree in chemistry. Following the death of his mother, he left India in 1972 and lived in the Philippines where he attended the Asian Institute of Management until 1976, when he emigrated to the United States with his Filipino-American wife Vivian. Chandran first made his fortune in California, investing in real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1981, he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen, and in the same year he founded Chemoil, a chemical and oil trading company specializing in ship-fueling.[2]

By 1991, Chemoil was listed by Forbes as one of the United States' largest private companies, although a blow to the company's fortunes following a global downturn in shipping after the Exxon Valdez disaster forced a major restructure and refinancing. Chemoil formed a partnership with Japanese trading company Itochu, which bought a 50% stake in the company. In 2005, Chandran moved himself and the company to a base in Singapore to more easily capitalize on the Asian shipping market. He relinquished his U.S. citizenship and applied for Singaporean citizenship.[2]

Chandran died on January 7, 2008 from injuries sustained when the helicopter in which he was traveling crashed in the Riau province of Indonesia. News of his death caused Chemoil's share price to drop by around 16 per cent.[3]

Bob is fondly remembered by his wife, Vivian, his daughters, Sharon and Ashley, and his loving family and friends.

 

[Watchman]

Chemoil CEO Chandran dies in helicopter crash, shares dive
Posted: 08 January 2008 0918 hrs

Mr Robert V Chandran

SINGAPORE: Chemoil Energy's chief executive and executive chairman, Robert V Chandran, died on Monday in a helicopter crash in Indonesia.
Chemoil's vice-president of business development, Terence Gidlow,
was also in the helicopter but is in stable condition, the marine
fuel product supplier said in a statement.
"The board of directors are in discussion on succession issues to
ensure business continuity," it added.
Shares of Chemoil slumped 16 percent at the start of trading on the Singapore Exchange on Tuesday. At 9.02am local time, Chemoil shares were down 8.7 percent at 47 US cents. - CNA/ir

 

[Watchman]

Chemoil chief Robert Chandran dies in copter crash

By Fiona Chan , Nicholas Fang and Yang Huiwen

Jan 9, 2008
<--- http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_194154.html
<--- http://www.chemoil.com/

GLOBAL PLAYER: India-born Mr Chandran, 57, was one of Singapore's richest men.
ONE of Singapore's richest men, oil industry entrepreneur Robert Viswanathan Chandran, died in a helicopter crash in Indonesia on Monday, aged 57.

He is survived by his wife Vivian, 53, and daughters Sharon, 31, and Ashley, 20.

Indian-born Mr Chandran, a Singapore citizen, amassed personal wealth estimated at US$490 million (S$701 million) after building the world's largest 'petrol station' operator for ships.

Mr Chandran was founder and chief executive of Chemoil Energy, which was listed in Singapore in 2006 and has an annual revenue of about US$4.4 billion.

He grew the business from a two-person firm in 1981 to what is now the biggest independent operator of shipping fuel, or bunker, in the world.

The Mumbai-born businessman had earned an MBA and found a wife in the Philippines, then made his fortune in California. But Singapore was where he chose to make his home.

Mr Chandran moved his family here and gained citizenship in 2005, after watching a National Day Rally speech on TV, where he was struck by the Republic's message of 'Asian values and Western conveniences', according to an interview he gave with The Edge Singapore, a business paper, last year.

His presence here was lauded by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in last year's Budget speech. Mr Tharman cited him as an example of global players choosing to sink roots in Singapore.

Mr Chandran's death stunned his family and friends, colleagues, and the wider industry.

Analysts yesterday said it is not clear who will take over the running of Chemoil, of which Mr Chandran owns 50.5 per cent.

Some brokerage houses downgraded the stock, saying its immediate and medium-term prospects were now uncertain.

Chemoil shares slumped 16 per cent to an all-time low of 43.5 cents when the market opened yesterday. But they recovered to close at 48 cents - down 3.5 cents from Monday.

The firm has also postponed an opening ceremony for its oil storage terminal in Singapore, which was scheduled for tomorrow.

Yesterday, colleagues and business associates grieved the loss of a man they remembered as 'friendly', 'passionate' and 'down-to-earth'.

On Monday afternoon, Mr Chandran was travelling in an Indonesian armed forces helicopter - which was 47 years old, according to the military - when it crashed in Riau Province, apparently in heavy rain.

Six other passengers were on board, including Chemoil's vice-president of business development Terence Gidlow, along with four crew members. All were injured, although none critically, according to the AFP news agency.

Mr Chandran, however, died from his injuries. Mr Gidlow returned to Singapore yesterday and is now warded at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

Another crash survivor, Mr Alex Lim, told The Straits Times as he was being wheeled to his ward that he was saddened by Mr Chandran's death. The business partner of Chemoil said he could not recall much about the crash, but said that they were on a flight to look at a joint project.

 

[Watchman]

Say it as long as it's meaningful and not something silly like a one liner .

 

[halsey02]

Feel like quoting that age old bible verse but I let him RIP!

Which verse? tell me? I wish to learn?