Mr.Jaithirth Rao - Chairman, Advisory Board
Mr. Jaithirth Rao is currently Chairman of Value and Budget Housing Corporation, a company focused on Affordable Housing. Mr. Rao was Chairman and CEO of MphasiS, one of the large I.T.-BPO companies of India. In 2006, MphasiS became a subsidiary of EDS which in turn was acquired by H.P. Mr. Rao was named the Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year - 2004' for the New York region, which followed his being similarly awarded in India two years previously. He was also given the 'Entrepreneur of the Year' award by the Economic Times. The University of Chicago has conferred a 'Distinguished Alumnus' award on Mr. Rao. In 2005, the State of Karnataka honoured him with its Rajyotsava Award..
Mr. Rao held several positions in Citibank prior to his founding MphasiS in 1998. In a banking career spanning over 20 years, he served with Citi in various capacities in Asia, Europe, South America and North America. Mr.Rao was a founder of the Online Banking Association in the U.S. He has testified before the U.S Congress on Internet-related issues.
He has been chairman of NASSCOM and is currently Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation. He is a Trustee of Sujaya Foundation and Chairman of the India Foundation for the Arts.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Loyola College in Chennai and Master's degrees in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and from the University of Chicago. Mr. Rao is also visiting faculty at IIM Ahmedabad and has been 'Entrepreneur in Residence' at Harvard Business School. His personal interests include reading, traveling and writing poetry on which Penguin India has published a book. He also writes a fortnightly column for the Indian Express. A collection of his columns has been published as a book by Rupa. The book is "Notes from an Indian Conservative".
Dr.Sundeep Dronawat (Sunny) - Member, Advisory Board
Dr. Sunny Dronawat has over 15 years of experience in Marketing, IT and Entrepreneurship. Sunny has had a diverse career characterized by involvement in Online Web 2.0 Communities, Marketing, Research and Development and IT. His background includes education and practice in market research, financial services, IT, and engineering.
He has been a President of a successful software compamy, CTO at a Fortune 500 company and CIO at a publicly traded company.
Sunny builds upon his real world experience as an Adjunct Professor at University of Louisville and Indiana University, New Albany. He is advisor for BPOsutra.com, Rural America Onshore Sourcing, Alta Financial Technologies and Integrated Systems.
Certified in Six Sigma, he is a Fellow of Financial Services Institute (FFSI) and Life Office Management Institute (FLMI). Sunny is also a "Kentucky Colonel." He was recently awarded the MOSIAC outstanding immigrant award by Jewish Community and Family Services.
Sunny is also involved in community activities and is currently on the Board of Indian Community Foundation of Louisville, he has also served on Executive Committees and Boards of Indian Association of Fort Myers, India Community Foundation of Louisville, Department of Chemical Engineering, and University of Louisville. He is also a member of Hindu Temple of Kentucky and a Lifetime member of Indian Community Foundation.
Education: Ph.D., University of Louisville; MBA, University of Louisville; MS, Biochemical Engineering, NITK, India; BS, Chemical Engineering, Karnataka University, India.
