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About Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande:
Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande is a globally respected technology entrepreneur and visionary whose ideas have reshaped entire industries. Desh was the first luminary the organizers contacted and he immediately accepted. In fact, Desh is promoting a forum at the Deshpande Center for Innovation at MIT. He is one of the most prolific donors and participant promoting technological innovation worldwide. An excerpt from his bio at Sycamore Networks which he founded and is the Board Chair of reads as below.
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“ … Led by Dr. Deshpande's vision and direction, Sycamore has helped to create a fundamental paradigm shift in the role and architecture of the optical network – transforming a once static optical infrastructure into an intelligent and dynamic network foundation for the delivery of new services. Sycamore's equipment is currently carrying voice and data traffic in the networks of the world's largest service providers.
Dr. Deshpande is also widely respected for his contributions to education and the greater community. Numerous business and industry publications in both the US and his native India have recognized Dr. Deshpande with awards. Dr. Deshpande is frequently invited to deliver keynote addresses at business, technology, education, and government conferences.
Dr. Deshpande serves as a member of the MIT Corporation, and his generous donations have made possible MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. The Deshpande Center was created to serve as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship by supporting research and collaboration among entrepreneurs, young companies, and MIT students, alumni, and faculty.
Prior to co-founding Sycamore Networks, Dr. Deshpande was founder and chairman of Cascade Communications Corp. Between 1991 and 1997, Cascade grew from a one-person startup to a company with $500 million in revenue and 900 employees. In June of 1997, Cascade was acquired by Ascend Communications for $3.7 billion. …”. |
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About Arun Shourie:
Arun Shourie is among India's best known commentators on current and political affairs. Born in Jalandhar, Punjab (1941), he studied at St. Stephen's College in Delhi and then obtained his doctorate in Economics from Syracuse University, USA.
Among other portfolios, he held the office of the Minister of Dis-investment, Communications and Information Technology in Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet. He was acclaimed as a “Star of Asia” by Business Week in 2002, as “The Business Leader of the Year” by The Economic Times jury for his pioneering and dogged work on privatization. In a poll of Indian CEOs, he was acclaimed as “The Most-outstanding Minister” of Mr. Vajpayee’s Government in early 2004.
He is the recepient of numerous national and international awards, including the Magsaysay Award and one of India’s highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan.
He has been an economist with the World Bank, and Editor of the Indian Express. He is widely regarded as the initiator of Investigative Journalism in India. The International Press Institute, Vienna, acclaimed him as one of 50 “World Press Freedom Heroes” whose work has sustained freedom of the press in the last half-century.
He has written 20 books on a variety of topics ranging from constitutional law, modern Indian history, religious fundamentalism to public life to governance in India, to national security.
His latest book, Falling Over Backwards, An essay against reservations and against judicial populism, was released in July 2006.
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