Vic Sethi came to Britain in 1991, during the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq led by Saddam Hussein on the 2nd of August, 1990.

Vic was born in Delhi/India, but grew up in Kuwait. His parents wanted all their children to adapt respect people of every faith based on the teachings of Sikhism. So the children went through a Catholic Christian School called the Carmel Convent School of Kuwait. The parents said that the children would adapt the Sikh faith as they were born in an Indian/Sikh family, They would understand about Islam by default as they were living in an Islamic country, they would learn to speak, read and write Arabic being in Kuwait and therefore being educated in a Convent School would make them understand Christianity too. All this would make them a grow up in a multicultural environment.

In 1983 Vic went to London for further studies. He started his career by working for a firm fixing car windscreens. After working hard and mastering the work, he joined a family business selling auto parts and then joined his father’s brother-in-law Mr Kartar S Sahni in Kuwait selling computer hardware and software under the VIP brand which they created in Kuwait while trading as Mohammed Al-Wazzan Computers in Shuwaikh, prior to him setting up his own computer business. He always worked from heart, loyalty and dedication giving his 100%.

In 1991 Vic came to the UK and settled in Manchester where he joined a family owned electronics distribution company Europasonic (UK) Ltd. t/a Eurosonic. In his first year he introduced computer systems and a stock control managements system in place.

After its competition Vic decided to start trading with Kuwait as it had just got independence and he knew a lot of the agents or companies were not operational. His first deal was struck with OSRAM Germany for lighting products to Kuwait followed by a exporting branded Video recorders and Stereo systems from Singapore to Egypt.

Vic always had a passion to supply the high street multiples of UK. It became even more challenging, when one of his friend in the company told him that the high street would not buy from him as they were an Asian company. He was determined to prove his friend wrong, so one fine day he went down to the Arndale Centre in Manchester and started to note down all the names high street stores who sold products of his interest and very soon his dreams came true.

He got married to Dimple Sethi in 1994 and moved to Leicester in 1995, where he joined his father-in-law Mr Anand a not only a very successful businessman but also a very honorable personality of Leicester. Babu Anand (Mr Anand’s brother in law), Harjot Anand (Mr Anand’s Son) and Vic have been successfully running the company called Anand International Ltd.founded by Mr Anand.

With this great team in place and team efforts the family business grew from strength to strength year on year.

In 1998 the company decided to either start their own brand or purchase a brand license. This turned into reality when they received the license for “Daewoo International” brand for the UK and Ireland. They setup a new company called Daewoo International (Europe) Ltd. and started to import Daewoo International brand electronic products such as DVD players.

In 2007/8, Vic met up with Hyundai Corporation Seoul and acquired the brand name HYUNDAI for importing electronics and misc. products for UK and Ireland.

Vic has always looked upon HRH The Prince of Wales as his role model. He felt it was now time to giving back to the community. He is a strong believer and has always got his “Quote” printed behind his personal cards:

“There is a saying that Charity begins at home, its very important to focus on the words “begins at home” and not “ends at home”. Once we have taken care of our family, it is time to go out and help others regardless of colour and faith. We are so fortunate to be Humans and belong to one great race called “HUMANITY”. Let’s start contributing back to the community. We have lived our lives, now it’s time to make this world a peaceful and better place for our children and the generations to come….”

Having lived in various parts of the World and between so many communities, Vic says that the United Kingdom is a country which respects people of every comunity and faith offering them equal opportunities and the freedom of speech. Even today in many parts of the world, people of other faiths are not allowed to build their house of Worship or practice their faith, they do not offer Nationality or Citizenship and are not even allowed to run businesses or buy homes or properties under ones own name if they are not the National of the country unless they have a local partner involved.

But in UK the government supports and funds the people of every faith to build their houses of Worship, Education centre’s, etc and allows everyone to freely practice their faith, open businesses, social benefits, the great NHS and much more….. The country is a true democracy and gives the freedom of vote and speech to all the British people regardless of which country they are born and or have come from.

“The grass is always greener on the other side, but having experienced the life in other parts of the world, UK is a true heaven if someone sees it from my eyes” says Vic

Based on Sikhism the family is a great believer of giving back to the community, so he started to contributing back to the community by supporting and giving his time to sports clubs such as Leicester City Football Club and Leicestershire Cricket County Club and other charitable organisations. He says he is the selected one in the family to carry the Baton of social responsibility, Vic says “One cannot do anything without the backing of their family and I am proud to say that my whole family has always backed me and have selected me to carry this Baton of Social Responsibility”

He is very passionate of Leicestershire and believes that its is a vibrant city where people live in harmony and peace. They interact with each other during events and cultural activities. He loves promoting Leicestershire and says that it should be looked upon as a role model to other cities in the UK and abroad.

Vic supports a lot of Trusts and Charities throughout UK and also sits on the board of the various trusts, He also supports a lot if trusts by organising events or supporting them in various ways.

Vic is the chief Patron of Crimestopper’s and GNG Football Club (est. 1969)

Vic has always been a passionate fan of HRH Prince Charles since childhood, so one fine day he wrote to HRH his views on Britain and thanking the Royal family for the rights offered to the foreigners who have settled in the United Kingdom. Vic along with his wife were invited to a dinner at the Palace with HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Camilla. At the Palace HRH Prince Charles explained the work of the Trust and its work in the UK and other parts of the World. He also assigned Vic with a few JV tasks and assignments at the Palace.

Vic’s passion of getting the name of LEICESTER on the map of the world was getting stronger, as many people living abroad did not know of Leicester at all. To do that he works quite close with a lot of MP’s, Charity organisations, Media such as TV, Newspapers, Radio, etc. Vic has been involved with the visits of Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty including the Bollywood’s greatest film producer Mr Yash Chopra.

Vic invited Mr Yash Chopra to Leicester for a tour of Leicestershire Country Cricket Club followed by a visit and a guided tour of the Leicester City Football Club along with CEO Tim Davies. Mr Yash Chopra made a public appearance at the Peepul centre in Leicester where he addressed the public.

This Leicester visit of Mr Yash Chopra was televised on Sony Entertainment TV Asian network viewed by over millions of viewers worldwide. The event was also covered by MATV, ITV evening news and other National and International Media companies. There are plans of bringing more celebrities into Leicester as and when the time is right.

The senior coach of Leicestershire County Cricket Club Tim Boon honored Vic as one of their Cultural ambassadors.

Three friends got together and setup a Sports Management, which was the result of a true passion in sports between these friends. The sports management company had signed Monty Panesar one of England’s cricketer.

Vic was also privileged to be appointed as a UK ambassador to assist Mr Suresh Kalmadi, The Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 committee in the organising of the launch of the Commonwealth Games Batten relay in London at the Buckingham Palace. This took place at The Buckingham Palace in front of HM The Queen, The President of India and other Ministers and other officials from India. Vic appointed Monty Panesar to be one of the Batten Relay bearers at the Buckingham Palace as Monty Panesar represented the England cricket team but has maintained his Sikh/Indian identity. The opening of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth games took place in the Buckingham Palace witnessed by HM The Queen and The President of India.

Vic was also invited to attend the opening and the launch of the Commonwealth games in Delhi 2010, where he had met up with the President and the Vice President of the Commonwealth Games Federation followed by a Gala dinner.

Businessman of the Year 2009 – Rt Hon. David Miliband (Foreign Minister)
Industry Award of the Year 2009 – Rt Hon. Dominic Grieve
Award of Honour 2009 – Sikh Missionary Society
Award of Honour 2008 – Roko Cancer – MKC Trust

“I am not a star, I am not an entrepreneur, I am not a hero? I am just an ordinary man, living in an ordinary World. Since childhood I have been taught to live a humble life. In this world we have come alone and we will go alone, so lets do something good in life which can be remembered by people for years to come after we are gone.

We are all a part of Gods great big family called the HUMAN RACE” and our duty is “HUMANITY”, so let us stretch our hands to help people in need.

We should always respect the people of the country we reside in. If it wasn’t to them we would not be where we are today. The country we live in gives us our livelihood, so we should respect it’s laws and try to abide by them and be good citizens. I am proud to be British and at the same time I also respect India and Kuwait. If it wasn’t to those countries I would not be where I am today. I look upon all the three countries as my Motherland and will respect them for life.”

The Ambassador to the embassy of the State of Kuwait His Excellency Mr Khaled Al-Duwaisan is a great personality and when ever we meet at the Embassy or on Kuwaits Independent day, he always says “Vic you are not an Indian, you are a Kuwaiti and the embassy’s doors are always open for you”