Prashanth Balaji considers himself fortunate to have been born into a prominent family of mine-owners in India. The upbringing and the lessons learnt from a young age, helped him manage the family business,  having now turned it into a conglomerate that now extends across many industries, and across four continents.

 

Academically, Prashanth completed his schooling from Breeks All India High School, Ooty, and holds an undergraduate degree in Business from MES College, Bengaluru.

 

The notion of Fleurs as a brand began in 2005, as a primal floriculture export business. The tiny startup soon became one of the largest exporters of flowers to Malaysia, Thailand, and other South Asian countries. A few years later, Fleurs became the first company to export freshly-cut jasmine flowers to New York, which was unprecedented.  With that step, a unique process was initiated to preserve  floral freshness. The Jasmine Flower Process by Fleurs was  invented. 

 

Prashanth still believes that being an entrepreneur who solves problems, is the only way forward. It is evident from  his successes in various businesses, industries and sectors that he has been lucky to dominate. From floriculture to mining, to event management - the past decade  has been nothing short of an adventurous journey for this business magnate - extending his reach into the various untapped markets of the world.

 

With no shortcuts but sincere focus, hard work and determination, Prashanth entered the mining industry in 2007. His mining business took off to greater heights, racing ahead of the competition, and is now one of the largest mining conglomerates outside of India. Being a visionary, he acquired and invested in verticals and relentlessly diversified into local markets, gaining a sterling reputation in Dubai, Kaiserslautern and Sao Paulo. 

 

Prashanth's core strength as a problem-solver, paired with his ability to forge and maintain personal relationships based on trust and shared principles, has helped his initiation into latent markets like China, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is from this position of strength that he sees his reputation and prowess grow in the coming seasons.

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Prashanth is the President of First Humanity Foundation