Syntel Founder Bharat
Desai Named "Entrepreneur of the Year"by
the Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan
Investing in people and infrastructure key to
success, says Syntel Inc. CEO.
TROY, Mich. – September 21, 2005 – Bharat Desai,
Chairman, CEO and founder of Syntel, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNT), a global
information technology services company, has been named "Entrepreneur
of the Year" by the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Bharat Desai: Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year
Left, Thomas Kinnear, Bharat Desai, and Dean Robert Dolan
Established in 1991, this award recognizes the accomplishments
of an alumnus or alumna of The University of Michigan who has
started and built a successful enterprise. Desai earned his M.B.A.
in Finance from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at The
University of Michigan in 1981.
The award will be presented on Friday, September 23, 2005 at
Entrepalooza 2005: Define Your Path — the Business School's
signature event celebrating entrepreneurship and new business
formation. Desai will present the keynote address following the
receipt of his award.
Desai founded Syntel in 1980 in Troy, Michigan with a $2,000
investment. Today, Syntel is publicly-traded on NASDAQ, has more
than 5,000 employees in global centers around the world, and a
market capitalization in excess of $770 million. Syntel provides
information technology solutions to leading corporations around
the globe.
About Entrepalooza
Presented by the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
and the Entrepreneur and Venture Club, Entrepalooza 2005 will
provide students, venture capitalists, and business executives
an outstanding networking opportunity, in addition to exposing
attendees to the various facets of entrepreneurship. This year's
event runs from 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23 at the
UM Ross School of Business Assembly Hall. There will be four panel
discussions on: entrepreneurial success in real estate, social
entrepreneurship, venture capital and private equity investing
and building successful ventures plus keynote addresses by Syntel's
Bharat Desai and Quicken Loan's CEO Dan Gilbert.
When our customers have a business or technology challenge, they
look to Syntel to Consider IT Done®.
Syntel supports the business processes and application portfolios
for some of the largest companies in the Global 2000. With over
130 customers, our repeat business is over 90 percent! A partial
customer roster is provided below.
BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
First Data
Investors Bank & Trust
JPMorgan Chase
Moody's
Paladyne Systems
Pioneer Investments
INSURANCE
Allstate
American International Group (AIG)
CNA
UnirisX
HEALTH CARE
Concentra
First Health Services
HCA
HCR Manor Care
Humana
Life Line Screening
Retail Health Network
WellPoint
RETAIL
1-800-FLOWERS.COM
Target Corporation
AUTOMOTIVE
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Ford Motor Company
General Motors
Portfolio Europe
Takata
OTHER CUSTOMERS
Airlines Reporting Corp.
Cochlear
Coinmach
Deloitte Consulting
Denel Aerospace Systems
FedEx
Hutchinson Technology
InfoUSA
Schneider Electric
Thomas Cook
Vikase
Wasau Homes
The Early Days
After success with a leading Indian technology services firm,
Bharat Desai had the urge to launch his own company. Armed with
an M.B.A. from The University of Michigan as well as $2,000 in
savings, Desai launched Syntel in 1980. The business model was
simple in those days: Work with local corporations to place well-trained
programmers at the customer's location for project work. But the
world and the approach to delivering technology services would
change quite dramatically in the coming years.
Going Global
In 1992, when most IT services firms were focused on delivering
on-site services, Syntel was busy launching its first Global Development
Center in Mumbai, India. Working closely with its customer, American
International Group (AIG), Syntel became the first U.S.-based
IT services company to launch a global delivery concept. By leveraging
the outstanding pool of technology talent, a 12-hour time zone
variance, and economies of scale, Syntel became the first firm
to run an around-the-clock IT project approach.
A series of large-scale applications outsourcing contracts began
building Syntel's growth momentum. In 1994, the company surpassed
the $50 million revenue mark and exceeded 1,000 employees. In
1997, Syntel exceeded the $100 million revenue point and earned
the highest "Preferred" performance rating from DaimlerChrysler.
A Public Appearance
In 1997, Syntel launched its initial public offering (IPO) with
the sale of 3.45 million shares of stock, trading on NASDAQ under
the symbol SYNT. All Syntel employees at the time became shareholders,
and the company began life in the public eye. After more than
65 meetings with potential investors over a three-week period,
Syntel's CEO and CFO took a well-deserved breather. In 1998, Syntel
surpassed the 2,000 worldwide employee mark.
Today and the Future
Syntel has significantly shifted its business model in several
ways. Today, almost 100 percent of our revenues come from BPO,
Applications Outsourcing and e-Business services. We have dramatically
altered how we deliver services, pioneering an on-site, off-site,
offshore approach that gives customers ultimate flexibility in
how and where the solutions are delivered. And, we have extended
that proven model to the Business Process Outsourcing world. Historically,
approximately 90 percent of our revenues are from repeat/referred
customers, one of the best rates in the IT services business.
Our customers cite the fact that Syntel brings a flexible, collaborative
approach to delivering real-world solutions and most of them consider
us as long-term partner. We're easy to do business with, and we
do everything in our power to exceed our customers' expectations.
We're not only grounded in today's technologies, we also have
deep expertise in yesterday's and tomorrow's technologies. This,
coupled with our growing Business Process Outsourcing services,
enables us to bring an enterprisewide approach to delivering real
business value to our customers. We strive to live and breathe
our brand: Consider IT Done®.
In 2016, Bharat
Desai and Neerja Sethi rank 274th on the list with a net worth of $2.5 billion. Started in 1980, their firm Syntel generates over $950 million in revenue and has nearly 24,000 employees across the globe, Forbes said......
