Brand IIT

Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and now a partner in venture
capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Arun Netravali, former
president of Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs (has made significant
contributions in digital image and video compression technologies); Kanwal Rekhi,
former CTO of Novell, one of the founders of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) and
CEO of the first Indian-led company publicly traded on Nasdaq; Padmasree
Warrior, executive vice president & CTO for Motorola; Arun Sarin, CEO of
Vodafone, Narayanamurthy, chief mentor, Infosys and the man who was instrumental
in putting the Indian software industry on the global map....the list goes on.

And these are only a few of the many IITians flooding the Silicon Valley,
having made it to the top corporate ranks, influencing technology and management
strategies at world-class organizations and directing the course of the
industry.

While the IIT brand needs no assertion, when the United States House of
Representatives passed House Resolution 227, honoring the Indian Americans and
graduates of IIT, it was a re-affirmation of the 'Brand IIT'. The
recognition had come as a precursor to the Global IIT Alumni Conference,
IIT2005, that was held later in May this year. Singling out the institutes'
contribution to the global industry, economic innovation and society in general,
is seen as a matter of pride and honor for the IITs.

It didn't need a resolution from the US Congress to recognize the power of
the IITs and its pull that is strong not only in India but in the global
industry as well. Before this, while an IIT was among the top global education
institutions, MIT or Stanford were still better recognized brands. This
recognition may well establish the IITs in the same ranks as these institutes,
and will help in establishing 'Brand India' across the globe. The added
thrust relegated to the IIT brand with this recognition will not only help put
India in an even stronger place on the global technology map but also bring
forth many more Indians in the top ranks of the global IT industry.

The US Congress Resolution

While honoring the contributions made by Indian Americans, in its
resolution, the US Congress particularly distinguished the contribution of the
IITs, stating that: "IIT graduates are highly committed and dedicated to
research, innovation, and promotion of trade and international cooperation
between India and the United States", and also that the House of
Representatives "honors the economic innovation attributable to graduates
of the Indian Institutes of Technology". Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA)
particularly hailed the contribution of the IITs to the IT industry as he
pointed out that most Silicon Valley firms have at least one IIT graduate among
their top executives.

IIT 2005: Attracting the who's who

The IIT charm was once again established at IIT 2005, the Global IIT Alumni
conference held later in May 2005 in Bethesda, a suburb of Washington DC. The
meet attracted the who's who of the industry as well as the academia including
Jack Welch, former Chairman of GE, Larry Summers, President of the Harvard
University, Bob Brown, Provost, MIT, KV Kamath, managing director and CEO, ICICI
Bank, and Sam Pitroda, CEO and founder, World Tel, etc.

What makes it tick?

While the fact that a significant percentage of IIT graduates leave India
after their graduation brings forth concern for the 'brain drain' issue, but
at the same time it is also an indicator of the IITs' prowess across the
globe. Today, IIT graduates are scattered across the high-tech world and can be
seen aplenty in Silicon Valley. As Arun Shourie, former Disinvestment Minister
pointed out at the conference that although he regrets that India loses 100,000
professionals a year, who immigrate, the IIT graduates have changed the world's
perception of India.

So, what is it that makes the brand IIT tick? The old and well-established
name in the corporate circles is what gives a head-start to its students,
faculty, and infrastructure. These are some of the factors that make the IITs
stand above the rest of the Indian technology institutes in terms of their brand
recognition, globally. IITians tend to have their pick of jobs and the IIT
alumni have made their way to the executive suites of major corporations. As per
the latest Dataquest-IDC-Nasscom survey the IITs are at the top of the
recruiters' perception scorecard in terms of the IT industry with IIT-Kanpur
and IIT- Bombay leading the charge. Campus placements in these institutes have
the top notch IT companies making a beeline to take the cream of the students.

While basking in the glory of IITs' recognition, the government, industry,
academia and the country in general should not lose sight of this opportunity to
model the smaller and lesser known institutes around the IIT success story, in
order to be able to create an effective 'Brand India'.

Shipra Arora

Brand IIT

Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, now a venture capitalist

This co-founder of Sun Microsystems and now a venture capitalist, is one of
the most distinguished alumni of IIT to have made a significant impact on the
global IT industry. A B-Tech from IIT-Delhi and also an alum of the
Carnegie-Mellon University and the Stanford University, Khosla has been
instrumental in nurturing start-ups and is considered to be one of the most
savvy entrepreneurs in the industry. He has played a key role in starting
companies that are involved in multimedia, semiconductors, internet software and
computer networking.

Khosla was once described by The Wall Street Journal as 'having the hot
hand in Silicon Valley right now'. He founded Daisy Systems and then
co-founded Sun Microsystems, triggering off an illustrious career. He was also
the success behind Cerent Corp and Siara Systems. This apart, he was also behind
starting of Juniper Networks.

Dr Arun Netravali, managing partner, OmniCapital Group LLC

An alumnus of IIT-Mumbai, Arun Netravali is considered to be a pioneer in
the area of digital technology and is well-known in the global community for his
scientific achievements. He has served as President of Bell Labs and as chief
technology officer and chief network architect for Lucent, followed by his stint
as a chief scientist with Lucent. Since November 2004, Netravali has been
managing partner of the VC firm, OmniCapital Group LLC and has also been serving
on the board of some companies.

A renowned technologist, Netravali is a patents man with several patents to
his credit in the areas of computer networks, human interfaces to machines,
picture processing, digital television, etc. He has contributed in the area of
digital communications technology and applied them to image processing and
digital video. One of his most significant contributions has been leading the
R&D of Bell Labs' High Definition Television (HDTV) initiative. He has won
several accolades for his contributions, including the Padma Bhushan Award in
2001 from the Indian Government and the National Medal of Technology from US
President George W Bush in 2002.

Padmasree Warrior, executive vice president and CTO, Motorola

This executive vice president and chief technology officer for Motorola is
an IIT-Delhi graduate. Leading a team of over 4,600 technologists is no mean
achievement and Warrior has been able to do that with sheer grit and
determination. Her responsibility for Motorola Labs, the global software group
and emerging early-stage businesses has her at the technology forefront at
Motorola, devising and influencing the company's technology strategies.

A BS in Chemical Engineering from IIT-Delhi, Warrior went on to pursue an MS
degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University. Her illustrious career
with Motorola started way back in 1984 and she has served in various capacities
since. She was appointed vice president in 1999 and was elected a corporate
officer in 2000. She has also served as corporate vice president and chief
technology officer for Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS),
corporate vice president and general manager of Motorola's energy systems
group and also as general manager of Thoughtbeam, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Motorola.

Kanwal Rekhi, chairman, Board of Trustee of TiE

The Silicon Valley picture of success will be incomplete without this IIT-Bombay
pass-out. Kanwal Rekhi, a graduate in Electrical Engineering, is an inspiration
for the whole generation of tech entrepreneurs. He is the chairman, Board of
Trustee of TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, an organization that he founded with
other entrepreneurs to promote young entrepreneurs. Rekhi is actively involved
in helping young entrepreneurs to get started, making them indispensable to the
spirit of the Silicon Valley.

Surprisingly, this Silicon Valley guru has been laid off thrice during his
early career. However, he has always managed to come out of it successful and
today has come to be recognized for a penchant for launching and then selling
his own-start ups and making millions out of them. He has been involved with
over 50 start-ups in the Silicon Valley, including Exodus Communications,
CyberMedia, Apptivity, Zietnet, PlaceWare and Ambit Design. Rekhi founded a
computer networking company called Excelan in 1982, becoming its President and
CEO in 1985. He was instrumental in taking the company public on the NASDAQ in
1987 and then driving the merger with Novell in 1989. Joining the Board of
Directors of Novell, Rekhi served as the company's executive vice president
and chief technology officer till 1995. He has been involved at the board level
of several companies like Versata, Sierra Atlantic, NetScaler, Ensim and
Instantis.

Arun Sarin, chief executive, Vodafone

Arun Sarin, the chief executive of mobile telecommunications company, Vodafone,
is one of the many examples of the IITians making it to the top echelons of
leading global companies. A prominent figure in the wireless industry, he has
been instrumental in influencing the industry's global growth and expansion.
An IIT-Kharagpur graduate, Sarin also holds two UC Berkeley graduate degrees, in
business and engineering.

Sarin has served in various executive positions during his career in the
telecommunications industry. He has been in the corporate ranks of companies
like Pacific Telesis, AirTouch and Infospace. At AirTouch, Sarin has held
various positions including Director, President, Chief Operating Officer before
being heralded as the CEO at Vodafone in 2003. He has also served as a director
of The Gap, Inc, The Charles Schwab Corporation and Cisco Systems.