Raffles Relocation & Mobility in Singapore has joined PAIMA. The company is led by Maneesh Sharma, the former Reginal Head of HSBC, Regional Head American Express, and CEO of International SOS.

He said that he wanted to call the company Raffles Relocation & Mobility primarily because the name Raffles in Singapore is synonymous with quality.  However Maneesh was keen to point out that his company has nothing to do with a company of a similar name that once existed in Singapore.  “We bought their assets, which were primarily their phone numbers and fax lines, hoping that it would give us a jump start however it didn’t,” he said. “Everything the company has achieved so far has been on its own merit and the will-to-win attitude of the team.”

But why would someone with Maneesh’s glittering corporate history want to start a moving company? “For over 24 years I’d been travelling 26-days a month and I decided it was time to settle down and spend some time with my young family,” said Maneesh. “I considered several options: set up a restaurant, establish a wine import house, etc, however the one thing that kept resonating was the fact that I lived in Singapore, a country primarily driven by expats who relocate all the time.”  Having moved internationally himself a number of times Maneesh felt that that the moving companies he used fell short of what he expected.  “This led to the eureka moment and I decided I could do better and started Raffles Relocation & Mobility.”

Asked why he had joined PAIMA Maneesh said that when he started the company back in 2015 PAIMA was the first organisation to invite him to its conference as a guest. “I was impressed with the structure of the event and how the one-to-one meetings were arranged,” he said. “I felt that joining PAIMA would help me grow my business and with my contacts around the world I hope I will be able to help other members grow theirs.”

As well as PAIMA, Raffles Relocation & Mobility is a member of IAM, Worldwide ERC and is currently in the process of acquiring their FIDI FAIM Plus accreditation. They claim to be the first relocation company in Asia to have acquired the ISO 9001:2015 certification in the year 2016.