Zubin Karkaria, CEO of ‘VFS Global’ and ‘The Kuoni Group’, was appointed ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite’ (Knight of the National Order of Merit) by François Hollande, the President of France. The prestigious recognition was conferred to Zubin – for his exemplary contributions in developing France as a top tourist destination and for the management of visa services globally – by His Excellency Alexandre Zieglar, India’s French Ambassador, at a ceremony at The Taj Mahal Palace, in Mumbai on 2nd December, 2016.

Zieglar praised Zubin’s integral role in conceiving the visa facilitation system and promoting France as a travel destination, thus increasing the Indo-French connect. Zubin Karkaria said, “I am deeply honoured and humbled to be judged worthy of receiving this recognition from the Honourable President of France. I’ve always believed in the enormous potential France has as a destination and it’s been a privilege to work with France’s Tourism Development agency and other travel fraternity stakeholders,” adding that this recognition would inspire his team to work harder towards developing French travel and tourism.

Commanding a rich experience of 25 years in the travel industry, Zubin Karkaria pioneered Visa Process Outsourcing in 2001, with the launch of VFS Global, and became the first Asian to head the Switzerland-Headquartered Kuoni Group (VFS Global’s parent company) in 2015.