The successful completion of Wi-Fi project is made possible by generous contributions by scores of individuals, different class/groups and mega donors. The required amount of $52,000 (about Rs. 23 lacs) was collected in a record time of about 3 months. It was greatly aided by extra-ordinary contribution by five donors, who collectively contributed $ 38,500 or about 75% of the total collection. Based on the donation trend, we define mega-donor as one who has contributed $2,500 or higher.
We honor following mega donors and provide brief introduction of each of them. They were reluctant to face publicity (and some even declined to provide photo/biodata), however we thought it appropriate that everyone should know about them and their valuable contribution.
Soumyo Sarkar (Mech 1979) (Donated $15,000)
Brief Biodata:
Soumyo is Current- Managing Director, Head of Matched Book Arbitrage, Deutsche Bank, New York. 1995 to present.
Soumyo Sarkar is the founder and head of a global equity proprietary trading business based out of New York with additional offices in London and Los Angeles.
Director and head of Equitech Proprietary trading, Credit Suisse, New York 1990 – 1995.
1982- 1990: various roles in WallSt. Firms Salomon Bros and Merrill Lynch
1979 – 1982 MBA, School of Business, Univ of Iowa
Rahul Shukla (ECE 1989) (Donated $10,000)
Brief Biodata:
Rahul is a Managing Director in Citigroup Global Markets' Investment Banking team. He is based in Hong Kong and focuses on hardware electronics manufacturers, semiconductor design houses, telecom equipment vendors and alternative energy companies in Asia.
Rahul completed MBA from IIM-B in 1991 and B.Tech. (Hons.) in Electrical Engineering from IT-BHU in 1989. He graduated in both his specializations as gold medalist for best academic performance.
Ujj Nath (Meta 1979) (Donated $6,000)
Brief biodata:
Ujj is President, CEO and Co-Founder of Syncata Corporation, a business consulting, and demand and supply chain management solutions firm with a fifteen-year track record serving the automotive industry. Nath and his brother Aloke founded Syncata in 1990. Syncata’s customer list includes, amongst others, American Honda, Toyota Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Roush Industries, North American Bus Industries and Ducati.
Nath also successfully negotiated the sale of his company to ProQuest a public company (Ticker: PQE) in 2004. He is currently the market leader for west for ProQuest Business Solutions, a division of ProQuest that specializes in automotive solutions.
Prior to joining NetBase, Ujj worked for Drexel Burnham Lambert in its analytical group and ran MIS for corporate finance in Los Angeles. He was also responsible for supporting operations in San Francisco, Houston and Tokyo. Before working for Drexel Burnham Lambert, Ujj founded a successful manufacturing enterprise in India, handing the reigns over to his family before coming to the US.
He also holds an MBA from University of Texas.
Subhas ‘Sage’ Khara (Mech 1979) (Donated $5,000)
Brief biodata:
Subhas earned MBA degree from the University of Connecticut in the United States.
Following employment with various organizations both public and private, in 1988 Mr. Khara and two business associates founded a specialty construction company in Southern California. Over the past 17 years this company has grown to become one of America’s premiere specialty construction companies with services including demolition, plant closures and environmental remediation with ten offices in the United States.
Somesh Singh (Chemical 1978) (Donated $2,500)
Brief biodata:
Somesh is the vice president and general manager, Identity Management Business Unit, for BMC Software, Inc. Singh joined BMC Software in 1997 and remained with the company through 1999. From 1999 through 2001, Mr. Singh left BMC Software to serve as president and chief operating officer of iVita Corporation, a Houston-based asset management software startup he helped found. Singh returned to BMC Software in 2001. During his two stints with the company, Singh has held several executive positions, including vice president of operations, worldwide sales and marketing, vice president of corporate operations, and vice president of research and development.
Prior to joining BMC Software in 1997, Singh served at IBM for over 12 years holding several professional and management positions in manufacturing, research and development, and finance.