Born in Mangalore on August 28, 1944, Dr. A.F. Pinto arrived in Mumbai in the early 70's after completing early education in Mangalore and later on at Loyola College, Madras. His teaching career began with a brief stint at St. Joseph's Boys School, Bangalore and later on in Mumbai.

Today, Dr. A. F. Pinto is the Chief Executive of the St. Xavier's Group of Schools and Ryan International Schools, a network of 75 Schools in 14 States with about 1,50,000 children enrolled in these institutions. There are around 8,000 teachers educating this mammoth student population. Beginning from scratch, he opened his first school in 1976 at Malad in Mumbai. After that, there was no looking back. Motivated by the need to have quality schools, Dr. Pinto established schools in suburban Mumbai, from Andheri to Virar. The St. Xavier's Schools, concentrated in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, with branches in Nagpur, Nasik, Jalna, Aurangabad as well as in the neighbouring States of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, have become reputed schools. He opened the second front, viz., Ryan International Schools in Delhi in the year 1991 and thereon in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Pinto, a Visionary and a Pioneer in Education, was the first to recognize the many ills that beset the system. While discussions and debates were still going on, as to how to modernize the educational system, he removed some of the flaws, like exams and homework, and reduced the bulging school bags. He introduced the Play-Way methods of teaching for children up to the Primary Section. These changes have made the life of school-going kids easier, giving them time for fun and play. Dr. Pinto was among the first to realize the setting in of the Info-Tech Age in India and introduced Computer Literacy Classes from Standard I in all his schools as early as in 1986.

The most striking quality of Dr. Pinto is his dispassionate pragmatism along with his compassionate zeal to spread education. He has transformed the classroom into an interactive learning room where students can freely speak, discuss and learn their subjects. The teachers also are open and involved in new techniques of teaching, attempting to put behind the age-old teaching methods. With the aim to provide Quality Education, Dr. Pinto launched into newer ventures. He provided the opportunity for education through lens and his students produced the film 'Chikki' which was selected to be filmed at the Tokyo Film Festival and also found a place in the Limca Book of Records. He spearheaded and hosted two major innovative events at the National and International level; viz The Indian Model United Nations 2001 in Delhi followed by INMUN 2002 and the First International Children's Theatre Festival 2002 in Mumbai. Most recently, on 26th June 2003, his creative visualization witnessed the evolution of the youngest breed of technicians, anchors, camerapersons, producers, with the grand launch of RYAN T.V. at the Ryan International School, Malad, India's first school to run an in-house Television Broadcasting Station with digital equipment, as certified by the Limca Book of Records. All these events were greatly applauded and appreciated by the media and the people.

At the international level, academically, the schools spearheaded by Dr. Pinto were one of the first to adopt the concept of Quality Control Education. The students participated in the QUALITY CIRCLE CONVENTIONS abroad, winning the Juran Award in Mauritius, the Best Sessions Award in Singapore and at the 5th ICSQCC Convention held in Kentucky, USA. The students also excelled at the Presidential Classroom - Future World Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. In an effort to explore, various delegations of students and teachers visited Russia, Bali and Bangkok, as a part of the Cultural and Educational Exchange Programme.

With the objective to encourage creative self-expression, Dr. A. F. Pinto started the publication of two in-house magazines, HELLO STUDENT and HELLO TEACHER. These magazines provide the students and teachers an opportunity to see their creative work in print.

A new approach to sports and games was formulated by Dr. A. F. Pinto and the Ryan International Sportsclub was formed in 1996. This Club is open to youth from a number of suburbs all over Mumbai city. The Sportsclub created opportunities for hundreds of school children and youth to get trained and experience a wide range of sports, games and athletic events. Camps and Workshops are regularly organized under the watchful eye of qualified coaches. Students undergo rigorous training and are later sponsored to enter tournaments and matches at the District, State or National level. It is hoped that Indian boys and girls will gain international status and win medals in the not too distant Olympics.

The 2nd Ryan National Junior Federation Cup Athletic Championship 2002 hosted by Ryan International Sportsclub in Mumbai is remembered for its record number of 501 participants from 22 States in 43 track and field events, in the Junior age group. The 2-day Meet witnessed the phenomena of 15 Meet Records and 7 National Records being broken. It served as a platform for the selection of the Indian team for the Junior Asian Track & Field held in Bangkok from 28-31 October 2002.

Dr. Pinto has also been sensitive to the needs of children from the underprivileged sections of society. Under his guidance, the ANUBHAV SCHOOL in Gurgaon, Haryana and the RADIANT SCHOOL at New Panvel, Navi Mumbai were started. , Here, education is provided to the children of construction workers, slum dwellers and from impoverished homes. Such schools help underprivileged children write the SSC exams and also receive vocational education. Recently, a child educated at the Anubhav School topped the Board in Haryana.

Environmental Conservation is yet another cause close to his heart. Dr. Pinto, a Trustee of Vanarai, has successfully mobilized the student community in Mumbai, Delhi and the other cities, to plant trees, undertake cleanliness drives at railway stations, bus stops and in their neighbourhood, thus educating the common man about the importance of a clean neighbourhood, personal hygiene and the role of trees in the environmental health of the nation. A massive Nationwide Tree Planting Campaign was launched 2 years ago by the Ryan Foundation under the direction of Dr. A. F. Pinto, with a commitment to plant 10 lakh saplings nationwide every year. For his significant contribution to the field of Education and Environmental Conservation, he was awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar 1999 in the organization category by His Excellency Shri. Bhaironsingh Shekhawat, the Vice President of India.

Deeply compassionate and committed to the cause of uplifting the downtrodden,
Dr. Pinto clearly enjoys helping the poor. Under his management supply of relief materials are organized for the children of orphanages. He encourages the students of his schools to donate relief materials like clothing, food, toys, books and stationery. He has also helped in providing relief to the cyclone-hit people of Orissa and built 22 houses, 3 schools and 2 borewells. He believes that the public have a conscience; and if they are addressed properly, they will respond generously in times of crises.

To crown his multifarious activities, Dr. A. F. Pinto was appointed the Sheriff of Mumbai in the year 2000 and has been awarded and recognized as the International Man of the Year 2001 by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, U.K.