Anand Deshpande: IU and Beyond

Dr. Anand Deshpande completed his B. Tech in Computer Science Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1984. The same year he enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington to pursue MS and PhD in Computer Science. In 1989, after receiving his Doctoral Degree, he worked at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories for 18 months before returning to India to pursue his entrepreneurial dream. Since 2009, Dr. Deshpande serves on the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council and supports scholarships, internships, and other student opportunities.

In this IU India Diaries feature, Dr. Deshpande narrates his story about his entrepreneurial journey, his family and mentors, and reminisces about his time at Indiana University. IU is grateful for his continued support of and involvement with the university, which has helped to create new opportunities for students.

My entrepreneurial journey

In 1990, I started my company focused on Data-Centric Services. I chose the name Persistent Systems as it refers to a data structure that is concurrently persistent. With no prior experience in business, I had to self-learn to navigate challenges in the early years. In the start, recruiting, training, and retaining new hires was difficult. There was hesitancy to join the company as there was no track of established success. Just as any new business, securing new work contracts was also a challenge. My first three customers had an Indiana University connection and played a significant role in getting us off the ground. When Microsoft signed us up for our services, it was one of my happiest moments. While we marched along with the new challenges, it took two years to know that we are finally here to stay!

In 1999, we reached 100 employees and in 2003, we reached 500. Today we are at 14,500 - 15,000 employees. We are in 18 countries and in India at six locations: Pune, Nagpur, Goa, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Among fresh graduates who join Persistent Systems, 40% are women and we persevere to encourage women to join our workforce.

At the mid and senior management levels women have lower representation. While family responsibilities work as a deterrent for professional upward mobility, we encourage women to re-enter the workforce, transition into non-technology roles within the organization, re-train and re-adapt. 

My family, my world 

My father worked for Bharat Heavy Electricals, and I grew up in Bhopal. My parents retired and moved to Delhi in 1978 and then to Pune in 1982, which made Pune my home city where I started Persistent Systems. There are a few people who influenced my life in a significant way. My father, Suresh Purushottam  Deshpande, worked as my first employee and worked for 25 years with the company. He was the Director, and I was the CEO/Managing Director. I was his boss, and it was definitely a challenge to work with him. Our pre-designated roles based on expertise helped us come up with a good working arrangement. My father's managerial experience, in comparison to my pure technical background, was crucial in the setting up of the company. He met government officials for all administrative approvals and was upright through the process. This helped us build a clean reputation and a company culture based on trust and honesty. His meticulous and matter-of-fact approach was beyond valuable. At the end of the workday, as we head home, he transitioned back to be my father!

In 1990, I married Sonali Deshpande who is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Persistent Foundation. She also worked as a kindergarten schoolteacher in Pune for 20 years. When the children came along, our happy moments multiplied. Arul Deshpande, my son, is an IUPUI alumnus and majored in Finance, International Business, and Economics. My daughter, Ria Deshpande pursued a major in Biological Sciences at Smith College and currently is a PhD student at UC Irvine. . When Arul chose to go to Indiana University, my visits to campus brought back nostalgic moments of student life!

@Indiana University

My PhD thesis advisor was Professor Dirk Van Gucht. I was his first PhD student, and the learning experience was intense! I also worked with Dr. José Alfredo Blakeley at IU and continued to stay in touch through the years. He was my sounding board for technology as well as life-related matters. I would credit him for my early professional success. It is two years since his death and I still miss him as a mentor.

I have never lived in a township as small as Bloomington and always preferred life in bigger cities! However, Bloomington grows on you, and you start to love small-town life and culture. Through my years at IU, I made friendships that I cherish. My friend, Tony McAfee, was from a small town in Illinois. During one spring break, I went home with him. His father, a local farmer, had a corn and hog farm. The thumb rule at a farm is 'all hands on deck' when it comes to working. It was my first time working on a farm and I realized how difficult farm work was! At the same time, it was fun and great exposure to rural American culture and work ethos.

A few of my favorite things

My interests are sports and reading. I watch sports channels, especially football, and basketball games. My favorite sportsperson is Roger Federer. For books, I love non-fiction, related to business and personal well-being. My most recent read was The Almanack of Naval Ravikant : A Guide to Wealth and Happiness.. My favorite author is Ram Charan, a business consultant/author, as I like his writing style and narrative. Recently, I have also taken a liking to podcasts and audiobooks. 

The sportsperson in action!

Over the years, I have traveled to all 50 US states. I like Asian cuisine, especially spicy Indian and Thai. My favorite food is however the humble dahi bhat or curd rice. If not living in India, I would love to be in San Francisco, which is full of action, people, and excitement. London and Berlin are my other favorite global cities.

Time to give back

Our CSR initiative, Persistent Foundation works in the areas of Health, Education, and Community Development. We are involved with COVID-related projects like software for Thermo Fisher’s RTPCR machines and help manage data. I'm also one of the founders of iSPIRT, India’s first product think tank, though I do not play an active role at present. 

deAsra Foundation is our personal family foundation. The ‘de’ comes from 'Deshpande' and the rest are initials of family members. We work with small businesses such as photographers, food vendors, travel agencies, with about two to ten employees. Our foundation's focus is to support and help establish themselves to become successful ventures in the market space.

My take on higher education

Higher education is not just an opportunity to learn from faculty at an institution, but an opportunity to meet different people and learn from each other. 'Continuous learning' is an important need for today’s workforce. Colleges should become providers of 'education for life' and utilize online platforms to provide opportunities for upskilling and training. Setting up incubation centers within higher education institutions for upcoming entrepreneurs can foster a healthy entrepreneurial culture among youth.

'To learn to learn and to learn to network' are two important skills that are crucial to success. It is also important to understand where money comes from, and how to manage money...

My life now and ahead

My son Arul is currently working at Persistent Systems as part of the UK Sales team. He plans to pursue MBA in the future. My daughter, Ria, continues to specialize in the field of her choice.  My children have not made the commitment to be involved with the company. I am open to the idea of them paving their own path and making decisions that best work for them.

I stepped down from the position of CEO in 2019, but still serve on the board of Persistent Systems as the Chairman. The time away from the company helps me think about what I need to do and what the company needs. Going forward, through our philanthropic initiatives, I want to support young entrepreneurs and build a better ecosystem for people in small businesses. I also serve on the Board of Governors and leadership committees for some of India’s public universities and on the Board of Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council. Through these opportunities, I get to revisit my life and industry experience and continue to contribute to institution building in India and give back to my alma mater.

More about Dr. Anand Deshpande's role at Persistent Systems!