Gururaj Deshpande

Gururaj Deshpande ("Desh" Deshpande) is an Indian American venture capitalist and entrepreneur, who is best known for co-founding the Chelmsford, MA-based internet equipment manufacturer Sycamore Networks, the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT and the Deshpande Foundation.

Presently, Deshpande is the Chairman of A123Systems, Sycamore Networks, Tejas Networks, HiveFire, Sandstone Capital, Sparta Group, and sits on the Board of Airvana.

Deshpande is a life member of the MIT Corporation, the Board of Trustees of MIT, and sits on the board of the MIT School of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council (DAC).

In July 2010, Deshpande was appointed by President Barack Obama to the co-chairmanship of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a group established to support the US President's innovation strategy. Provided by Wikipedia