Bharat Desai is an Indian American

Indian American

Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...

 entrepreneur and founder of Syntel

Syntel

Syntel, Inc. is a global provider of Information Technology and Knowledge Process Outsourcing solutions, with global development centers in India and the United States....

. He currently serves as Chairman of Syntel

Syntel

Syntel, Inc. is a global provider of Information Technology and Knowledge Process Outsourcing solutions, with global development centers in India and the United States....

  headquartered in Troy

Troy

Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. Desai co-founded Syntel in 1980 with his future wife Neerja Sethi. As of April 16, 2009, it had a market capitalization

Market capitalization

Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...

 of $943 million. Desai was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Ross School of Business

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is the business school of the University of Michigan. Numerous publications have ranked the Ross School of Business' Bachelor of Business Administration , Master of Business Administration and Executive Education programs among the top in the country and the...

 and won the IIT Alumnus of the Year award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He was also the recipient of the Michigan Entrepreneur Award from the Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

 and recognized as Entrepreneur Of the Year by USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

 and NASDAQ

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

.

Desai is a Board Member of several educational institutions, including the John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

 at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Desai received an MBA in finance from Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Ross School of Business

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is the business school of the University of Michigan. Numerous publications have ranked the Ross School of Business' Bachelor of Business Administration , Master of Business Administration and Executive Education programs among the top in the country and the...

, University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Technology

Bachelor of Technology

The Bachelor of Technology is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after completion of a three or four year program of studies at an accredited university or accredited university-level institution...

 degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, India.

Bharat Desai and his wife Neerja Sethi were ranked #286 in the 2007 Forbes 400

Forbes 400

The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes Magazine magazine of the wealthiest 400 Americans, ranked by net worth. The list is published annually in September, and 2010 marks the 29th issue. The 400 was started by Malcom Forbes in 1982 and treats those in the list like...

 list, with an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion US dollars. Bharat Desai and family were ranked #252 in the 2010 Forbes 400

Forbes 400

The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes Magazine magazine of the wealthiest 400 Americans, ranked by net worth. The list is published annually in September, and 2010 marks the 29th issue. The 400 was started by Malcom Forbes in 1982 and treats those in the list like...

list, with an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion US dollars.