Speakers Bio & Abstract

 
Rakesh Verma Managing Director& Co-Founder
MapmyIndia
India

BiographyAn innovator and a visionary, Rakesh quit a successful career of 12 years in USA to return to India in early 90s and founded CE Info Systems, now popularly known as MapmyIndia. As early as 1994, Rakesh recognized the potential benefits of digital maps to businesses, government and individual consumers. Armed with his foresight and a desire to participate in Indias development, he led a pioneering and pathbreaking effort by steering MapmyIndia over the last 20+ years to create Indias most comprehensive, exhaustive, accurate, and information rich digital map dataset. Rakesh, a first generation entrepreneur, started this monumental effort of digital map product making at a time when nobody had the vision that digital maps specifically, and data and software products generally, would become a critical value proposition in the information technology space. MapmyIndia pioneered and revolutionized the business model in India by launching Indias first internet mapping portal, MapmyIndia.com, in 2004 and also the first and till date, bestinclass, GPS navigation system, MapmyIndia Navigator, in 2007. Through his efforts, MapmyIndia as a brand has become synonymous with navigation, digital maps and location technologies in India and has received many awards and recognition from media, institutions, and industry. NASSCOM showcased MapmyIndia for its IT Innovation in 2004 by NASSCOM and GPS Business News elected Rakesh as the Worlds GPS Business Man in 2007. Rakesh was also nominated to the National GIS Core Group of the Planning Commission of the Government of India in 2012, and serves as the President of the Survey and Mapping Association (SAMA) industry body whose charter is to help Indian government, business and society to progress and benefit from maps. Rakeshs inspiring entrepreneurial success story has been featured in the book BITS of Success which featured 50 BITSian achievers over last 50 years of BITS Pilani (19642014). Rakesh obtained a Bachelors of Engineering from BITS Pilani, India in 1972, and an MBA from Eastern Washington University, USA in 1979. Rakesh has over 40 years of wide operations and management experience in different industry verticals, including leading companies such as EDS (General Motors, USA). Rakesh is married to Rashmi and together they founded MapmyIndia. They have two children who are well settled. Rakesh loves travelling and lives with his wife in New Delhi.