Deshpande, Gururaj "Desh"
Co-founder and Chairman, Sycamore Networks
Founder, Sparta Group LLC
Chairman, A123Systems
Desh Deshpande is the founder of Sparta Group and is also the co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks. Prior to that he was founder and Chairman of Cascade Communications, a public network for global computer connectivity, acquired by Ascend Communications in 1997. Cascade was named one of the “Top 25 Very Cool Companies” by Forbes in 1996. Cascade also placed first in the 1996 “New England Fast 50,” an annual ranking of hightech companies by Deloitte and Touche and second in its “National Fast 500.” Deshpande also serves as Chairman of Cimaron Communications, a leader in silicon solutions and ASIC cores for high speed SONET systems, and WebDialogs, Inc., a startup focusing on Internet-based customer interaction technology. He has garnered many top industry awards.
Deshpande was born in Hubli, Karnataka in India in 1951. He holds an Bachelors degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Chennai, a Masters from the University of New Brunswick and a PhD from Queens University in Canada.