Early Life and Education
Anand Deshpande was born in Akola, Maharashtra, and grew up in a BHEL township in Bhopal. He was a studious child with a strong academic background. He attended IIT Kharagpur, where he earned a Bachelor of Technology degree with Honors in Computer Science and Engineering. He then pursued further studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, earning both an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Computer Science.
Rise to Success
Deshpande's career began at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Palo Alto, California. However, he returned to India and, in 1990, founded Persistent Systems with an initial investment of $21,000 from his savings and borrowings. He transitioned from the CEO role in 2019 and focused on making a broader impact, working on initiatives related to entrepreneurship, data, biotechnology, health, research, and higher education. Persistent Systems went public in 2010. Under his leadership, Persistent Systems has grown to become a global company with over 26,000 employees across 18 countries.
Key Business Strategies
Persistent Systems focuses on digital engineering and enterprise modernization services. Key strategies include a client-centric approach, leveraging technology to help clients with digital transformation, and building new products. Persistent provides services in cloud computing, data analytics, and software product engineering. The company has also made strategic acquisitions to expand its capabilities and global reach.
Philanthropy
Deshpande is actively involved in philanthropic endeavors. He is a founding trustee of the Persistent Foundation, which handles the company's corporate social responsibility. He also founded the DeAsra Foundation with his family, a non-profit focused on creating self-employment opportunities for nano entrepreneurs. The DeAsra Foundation has supported nearly 300,000 nano entrepreneurs.
