Rajasekhar Ramaraj
Ramaraj, is the Founder and till recently the CEO of Sify Limited, the pioneer and leader in Internet, Networking and eCommerce Services in India.
Sify was the first Indian Internet company to be listed on the Nasdaq National Market in the US (NASDAQ : SIFY), and has a history of firsts both in terms of technologies, service standards and marketing.
Ramaraj was recognized as the ‘Evangelist of the Year’ at the India Internet World Convention in September 2000. In October 2000, Sify was voted the ‘Company of the Year’ at the Silicon India Annual Technology and Entrepreneurship Conference in San Jose, California, USA. And in 2001, in a CNET.com poll in India, Ramaraj was voted the IT Person of the Year 2000. He was invited by the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan to be a member of UN’s Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).
Ramaraj was also the President of the ISP Association of India for about five years..This is a body that worked with the government and other stakeholders to formulate policies for the growth of the Internet in India.
Ramaraj is a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras and an MBA from the IIM, Calcutta. Beginning his career in Sales and Marketing, Ramaraj went on to pioneer the retail marketing of computers in India by establishing Computer Point in 1984. He was a Founder Director of Microland Ltd before a stint in cellular telephony as Director, Sterling Cellular up to 1996.
Currently Ramaraj is associated on a part time basis, as a Venture partner/mentor at Sequoia Capital and is a member of the global Board of Trustees of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs).
Ramaraj was first selected by the 2006 Nominating Committee to serve as a Board director from October 2006 through ICANN's annual meeting in October 2009. He will serve three more years, with his term concluding in late 2012.
