We are a small team that bears overall responsibility for managing the foundation. We love what we do, and we do it with a passion.
Koolesh Shah
Founder Trustee
Born and raised in Britain, Koolesh Shah founded London Town Group in 1988, a private sector corporation focused on cutting-edge performance in four main pillars – Real Estate, Philanthropy, Energy and Technology. Koolesh was named Hotelier of the Year at the Asian Business Awards.
Koolesh is also founder of the Koolesh Shah Family Foundation a UK charity. Our objective is to harness the activities and initiatives of the family’s ongoing philanthropy work.
Organisations such as the London based Making the Leap which improve social mobility by raising the aspirations of, and increasing opportunities for, young people between the ages of 11 and 25 have benefited from the Foundation. Additionally, Koolesh is a regular mentor and inspirational figure for many young people in their program.
Koolesh has supported the charity with interview practice, inspirational presentations, PR and marketing services, charity donations and being a relatable figure to young people born and raised in London.
Koolesh has provided over 600 jobs in London and the provinces including Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, and Sheffield through his hotel group. Koolesh also provides jobs in the technology and energy space in London with close ties to spin outs from Imperial College. The Foundation’s support of IAfrika in Kenya has enabled large numbers of slum children to be sheltered, nourished and educated, given a new life of dignity and purpose.
Koolesh is a long time devotee of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. As Chairman of the Sri Aurobindo Trust, he has provided funding to further the teachings of Sri Aurobindo at SOAS, University of London since 2017 with regular field trips to the Ashram in Pondicherry and to Auroville.
The Foundation through the Trust has co-ordinated and funded permanent major exhibitions in Auroville and the publication of the English of Savitri. It has been a substantial doner of the Matrimandir in the centre of Auroville. It has sponsored and co- produce several films on the life and teaching of Sri Aurobindo, the most recent bring released in 2023, Sri Aurobindo and the Earth Future.
In UK’s first Hindu crematorium, Aum Crematorium, Koolesh has sponsored a prayer room based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo on the continuing journey of the soul.
Koolesh has been involved in the Jain community, having been President of the Jain Social Group London a role he held between 1986 and 1996. The organisation has over 60,000 members and 425 groups worldwide.
He was a founder member of the Vanik Business Group, which enabled the business community to further engage together and mutually flourish.
Email: info@kooleshshahfoundation.org
Dr. Nikhil Shah
Trustee
Nikhil read Mathematics at the University of Cambridge before undertaking an industry-funded PhD at Imperial College in earth imaging technology.
He is the CEO of energy technology company S-Cube as well as co-founder of Hotel Cloud developing next-generation smart room solutions.
Nikhil won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award 2019 in association with State Bank of India at the annual Asian Business Awards in London.
In the same year, Nikhil also won the Young Entrepreneur of the year award by TiE handed by ICICI Bank.
Kavita Doshi
Trustee
Kavita is a Law graduate from the University of Cambridge, who moved to Nairobi from London 7 years ago.
In the UK she worked as a strategy management consultant specialising in retail and went on to learn the ropes at London Town Group, working through the operational, revenue management and reservations departments to expand her knowledge base.
Upon reaching Kenya, Kavita launched her own start up in the catering business, specialising in baked goods, and expanding it to 7 retail locations and a Nairobi wide delivery service.
Kavita then ventured into property development, developing two high end villas in Runda. She is currently developing a Grade A commercial building on Riverside Drive in Nairobi named The Cube, due to complete September 2022.
Kavita has a passion for philanthropy, and launched a charitable foundation named Charity Connect in 2019 which carries out daily feeding programs across the city, channels donations to trusted, vetted projects within slum areas, and manages and runs several sustainability projects aimed at providing economic empowerment and enhancing education opportunities for those in need.
Kalakant Shah, FCCA
Trustee
Since qualifying as a Chartered Certified Accountant in early 1970’s with a leading firm of London Chartered Accountants. He since worked with various financial and commercial enterprises, including nearly 15 years as Chief Group Accountant for a leading London Merchant Bank, a member of the Accepting Houses.
Having been invited, and felt privileged, to hold the office as one of the Trustees for the Aurobindo Trust and the Koolesh Shah Family Foundation, he had the opportunity to visit Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville in Pondicherry, on several occasions, and became very much interested in the philosophy and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
With his financial background Kalakant is able to contribute positively on matters of fund-raising activities, which in turn enable the Trusts to thrive, and fulfil its medium to long term philanthropic objectives.
Victoria Crampton
Foundation Coordinator
Victoria has a background in marketing and PR, assisting brands in engaging with the target markets using offline and digital marketing tools.
Victoria is responsible for the co-ordination of the foundation projects and programmes across the globe.
Her motivation to join the foundation is to enable our funds to lever additional support and help attract funding to areas that may otherwise be under-resourced.