From Vision to Victory: Telugu Entrepreneurs Rewriting the Business Landscape in the USA
D C Manjunath Consul General of India gave away the awards
The Telugu People are a very strong community in the USA. 40% of Indians studying in the USA are Telugu. Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the USA. Telugu is the USA’s third most-spoken Indian language. Approximately 10 lakh Telugu People live in America.
Hyderabad, June 20, 2024……Telugu Times, a publication that has been catering to the Telugu diaspora in the USA for the past 21 years, presented the second edition of Business Excellence Awards 2024 to successful Telugu entrepreneurs in Dallas, in the United States of America.
Sri D C Manjunath Consul General of India, was the Chief Guest. He appreciated the Telugu community’s role in the US economy and the Indian economy with growing remittances to India year after year. He also appreciated Telugu Times for serving the Telugu Community.
Mr J. A Choudhary, Former Adviser – IT&C, Government of Andhra Pradesh, who was Guest of Honor recalled how several IT Professionals benefited from STPI (Software Technology Park of India) Hyderabad in his tenure and congratulated the Entrepreneurs for their success and excellence.
The Award Winners were Mr Srikanth Gaddam, CEO -of ERPA, Columbus Ohio- IT Services Category; Mr Dayakar Puskoor, CEO- Dallas Venture Capital – Venture Capital and Investment Category; Dr Yogi Chimata, Dallas Renal Group, Dallas – Hospitals and Healthcare category; Mr ANIL SUNKARA, Producer- AK Entertainments, Dallas, TX – Cinema and Entertainment; Mr BALA Indurthi – President- Sankar Netralaya, Atlanta, GA – Community Service; Ms Geetha Dammanna – CEO- Dammanna Law, Dallas, TX – Legal; Mr Ramesh Gadiraju, A2B Sweets & Restaurants, – Hospitality; Mr Kiran Pasham, President- Splash BI, Atlanta, GA – IT Products Development; Mr Vijay Borra- CEO- DFW Lands, Dallas, TX- Real Estate; Mr Maheswara KAS- CEO, KK Software Associates, Columbus OH- IT Staffing.
Giving his opening remarks, Telugu Times Editor and CEO Chennuri Venkata Subba Row, Telugu Times embarked on this initiative last year to recognize and honour business excellence of the Telugu business community and showcase their talents to the world by honouring them with awards. Telugu in the USA is a very strong community. Nearly ten lahks Telugu people live in the USA. 40 percent of Indian students in America are Telugu. Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the USA. Telugu-speaking people are the largest ethnic group in the USA. Telugu people run several restaurants and theatres. Telugu films are released in the US one day before. More Hindu temples have come up in the USA. No Indian state has as robust a relationship as two Telugu states and the US have. The strength of our relationship is our people-to-people connections, strong democracy, and shared values, so he added that we felt the need for such an initiative.
The rise in the Telugu population is attributed to the increasing representation of the Telugu diaspora in the technological field, especially after Y2K
“For the thousands of readers for whom Telugu Times has been an integral part of their Indian-American journey, ” Subba Row added.
The awards ceremony was first held in Milpitas, San Francisco in June 2023, and now for the second time it happened in Dallas, TX in June 2024.
Mr Nagendra Bandaru, Executive Board Member – WIPRO & President of Enterprise Futuring, delivered a Keynote address on Success in Technology Leadership & Future of AI, ably moderated by Mr Satish Manduva, CEO- Intelli Soft Technologies & Founder President- IT Serve Alliance.
Mr Raja Doddala, Head of Growth Equity & Investments- Churchill Asset Management spoke on VC Funding for Emerging Tech Firms & Growth Equity. The Fireside Chat was moderated by Mr Ram Nandhyala.
Plano Mayor John B. Munns, Mr Gopal Ponangi, Trustee, Frisco School District ISD, and Mr Tony Singh, Council Member – Little Elm City were present.
Mr Prasad Thotakura, Former President-TANA, Mr G Atma Charan Reddy, Former President- ATA, Mr Bapaiah Nuthi, Former President -NATS, Mr Sridhar Korsapati, Former President -NATA, Ms Neel Gonuguntla, US India Chamber of Commerce DFW and several other dignitaries of the Indian diaspora graced.
Mr Nagendra Badaru gave away Appreciation Mementos to Partners & Sponsors – Mr Suresh Manduva & Mr Satish Bandaru (TANTEX) Mr Sridhar Bendapudi (IT Bluebird), Mr Seshu Kalra (Soft Keys Inc), Mr Venkateswara Chinni (Pelican Valley), Mr Krisha Korada (APLLAZ) and others.