Nearly four decades later, Duraiswamy, a senior director of communications at GE Renewable Energy's subsidiary LM Wind Power, is still rallying people for positive change. 'And I convinced all these uncles and aunties to open their wallets and buy tickets,' he adds, laughing at the memory.

'I pitched this Bollywood-style concert to raise money for a new school building,' he remembers. He was fundraising out on the streets of his hometown of Chennai, India.

Chandra Duraiswamy discovered his talent for steering people to a good cause when he was only 12.