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Vijay Eswaran is a Malaysian businessman, co-founder and Executive Chairman of the NASDAQ publicly traded company QI Group.

Early life
Vijay Eswaran was born in Penang, Malaysia, in a modest, well-educated family of Indian origin.

He did his higher education in accounting and management in London, UK, which he funded through working as a taxi driver.

After graduating with a degree in socio-economics in LSE (London School of Economics) in 1984, he bummed around Europe for a year, where he did a series of jobs inlcuding working in a construction site in Belgium and plucking grapes in France. It was in the UK that he was introduced to binary system marketing, and that prompted him to obtain a professional qualification from CIMA in the UK, followed by an MBA from the Southern Illinois University in 1986. At this time he was involved in multilevel marketing (MLM) on a part-time basis while working for Synaptics in the U.S.

He then spent several years working as an information systems engineer for various companies in North America and South-East Asia, including IBM.

It wasn't until his return to Malaysia - 13 years after leaving it - where he was approached by the Cosway Group to start its Philippines business, that he began looking at MLM more seriously.

QI group
In 1998, after his return to Asia, he co-founded a multilevel marketing company that grew and expand into QI Group, an e-commerce based conglomerate with businesses in travel, media, telecommunications, luxury products, wellness, training, and corporate investments. QI Group has regional offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and a presence in nearly 10 countries through a wide range of subsidiary companies. Green Venture Capital, a subsidiary of QI Group is currently constructing Qi City, a RM 1.2 billion commercial and residential development, in Bandar Meru Raya.

Speaker
Eswaran has spoken at management and business forums including the sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in India, and the World Economic Forum.

Author
A collection of his photography On the Wings of Thought was published in 2011 by RYTHM House Publishing.

Philanthropy
Founded in 2004 as a corporate social responsibility branch of the QI group, RYTHM Foundation aims to promote and helps sustainable development of communities in need.

Founded in 2006 the Vijayaratnam Foundation, named after Eswaran's late father, is the Malaysian branch of the RYTHM Foundation.

Through these foundations Eswaran has initiated community programs, such as mentorship, and has also made donations to individuals and charities.

Awards and accolades

 * In November 2011 Eswaran was given the Lifetime Regional Philanthropy award by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during the third World Chinese Economic Summit held in Kuala Lumpur.
 * In 2012 Eswaran was given the New Global Indian (NGI) award for philanthropy and business excellence at the Global Indian Business Meet (GIBM) in New York.
 * In February 2013, Eswaran was named in Forbes Asia's Malaysia's 50 Richest at Number 25.
 * In November 2013, Eswaran was named CEO of the Year 2013 at the Malaysia Business Awards organised by the Asean Business Advisory Council Malaysia.

Jakarta
In 2007, a case was brought against Eswaran by two former associates over the repayment of a 1997 loan. Although the accusers later admitted to receiving over $750,000 in dividends in the years following the loan, the case was escalated by a Filipino court. Following the posting of an Interpol notice, Eswaran was detained in Indonesia. After two months under house arrest in Jakarta, Eswaran was cleared by an Indonesian court of all wrongdoing. Both Interpol and the Filipino court dismissed the charges soon after.

Chennai
In 2008, in a case filed in Chennai, India, Eswaran entered a dispute with former company investors, who were seeking damages after accruing losses. The case was taken to the Indian Supreme Court, which decided to quash the proceedings , ruling that Eswaran was not responsible for any investor losses.

India
In 2013, Eswaran was named in an ongoing investigation by the Economic Offences wing of the Indian Government in relation to the operations of QNet. A ruling on this investigation by the Indian Supreme Court is due in January 2018.

Personal life
He is married to Umayal Eswaran who is the Chairperson of the Vijayaratnam Foundation.