"It's good to be back."
Words from Sanjay Sharma, a 1993 graduate of South Dakota State University and the current CEO of Roambee Corporation. Sharma made a trip back to his alma mater this week to meet with campus and community leaders.
"My first international trip was when I came to SDSU in 1991," Sharma, who got his undergraduate degree from the University of Bombay, said. "It's great to see the university's growth since then."
Sharma graduated from SDSU in the spring of 1993 with a master's degree in electrical engineering. Since then, he has been embedded in Silicon Valley entrepreneurship, founding three startups, including Roambee.
Backed by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and other Silicon Valley investors, Roambee is an "internet of things" monitoring company offering a real-time, multi sensor, visibility solution to monitor in-transit shipments and field equipment to eliminate business disruptions and financial risks. Roambee is powered by its location-aware intelligence cloud platform and an industry-unique, on-demand business model where customers pay only for the shipments or assets they track.
Their supply chain solutions were crucial in delivering vaccinations to U.S. and international partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies like Lenovo, Mercedes-Benz and Flyjac also rely on Roambee's sensor hardware, cloud data analytics and automation to ensure shipments and supply chain assets are secure during the delivery process.
At Roambee, Sharma is responsible for the leading the company's vision, increasing the company's value and driving its worldwide business growth.
"It's great to have one of the university's biggest success stories back on campus," said Rajesh Kavasseri, associate dean for research for the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering. "Engaging both our faculty and students with industry leaders--like Sanjay (Sharma)--is important in navigating the ever-changing landscape of higher education."
During the visit, Sharma met with Kavasseri, Sanjeev Kumar, dean for the Lohr College of Engineering, and other campus leaders to discuss industry challenges, student partnerships and opportunities, and the infrastructure and capabilities of the university to complete high level, faculty led projects.
"Strong relationships with alumni like Sanjay (Sharma) are crucial to the continued development of both the Lohr College of Engineering and the university as a whole," Kumar said. "The opportunities and possibilities that have stemmed from this visit are very exciting."
A strategic thought leader and renowned speaker, Sharma also shared his insights on the exciting but complex world that is Silicon Valley.
"We are looking to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and SDSU," Sharma explained. "There are a number of innovative partnerships and pathways in development that will allow for increased growth and opportunities at both the university and industry level."
Categories: South Dakota, Business, Education, General