Vinod Gupta
Encyclopedia
Vinod Gupta is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of infoGROUP (previously known as infoUSA
). Mr. Gupta served as CEO of the company from the time of its incorporation in 1972 until September 1997 and from August 1998 to August 2008. Borrowing $100 from a bank to get started, it has grown from a one-man operation to a global employer of over 5,000 with revenues of $750 million. During this period he acquired over 45 companies. InfoGroup was sold in july 2010 for $680 million
He was recognized in Bill Clinton’s book Giving, describing the company as one that “has made a concerted effort to hire people who were on welfare, as well as people who are disabled or who have to support themselves after getting out of unsafe domestic situations.”
He was appointed by President Clinton
to serve as a Trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
in Washington, D.C. Mr. Gupta was also nominated and confirmed to be the United States Consul General to Bermuda
as well as nominated by the President to be the United States Ambassador to Fiji
(Uttar Pradesh
). After graduating high school, Mr. Gupta applied to the Indian Institutes of Technology
(IIT) and was admitted into the IIT Kharagpur campus, majoring in agricultural engineering where he was consistently bottom of his class. Upon completion of that degree in 1967, Mr. Gupta moved to the United States to get his masters degree. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with an MS
Agricultural Engineering in 1969 and an MBA in 1971. He was awarded honorary doctorate by Monterey Institute, University of Nebraska, and IIT Kharagpur . He also delivered the commencement address at IIT Kharagpur in 2006
With the help of another employee, Vinod sorted the books state by state. Commodore said they could work on the project on their own time and once completed, the company would consider buying the list. After the list was completed, Vinod gave them two options: pay $9,000 for exclusive rights to it or receive it free of charge and allow Vinod and his partner to sell it to Commodore’s competitors. Balking at the $9,000 cost, Commodore chose the latter option.
Borrowing $100 from a local Nebraska bank, Vinod invested the money in mailers he sent out to other mobile home manufacturers. Within three weeks he had received checks for $22,000 and orders for another $13,000. Vinod had found his niche, now he just had to come up with a more efficient way to collect the data.
By 1992, the company had revenue of $42 million and became publicly traded on NASDAQ Since then, Mr Gupta acquired over 45 companies and built it into an information power house
Mr. Gupta recognizes the value of education and how it has changed his life. As a result, he has made education a primary beneficiary for his charitable contributions. “Through his charitable foundation, Vinod has helped advance education across fields including: business, science, information technology, communications, intellectual property law and wildlife preservation.” Most recently he donated $1 million for a women’s polytechnic in his village of Rampur Manhyaran, a small town near Saharanpur
in Uttar Pradesh
state. The Polytechnic was inaugurated by the former US President Bill Clinton
.
In addition he gave his alma mater, Indian Institute of Technology, $2 million to create the Vinod Gupta School of Management
. The institute now offers an MBA program to engineering graduates with 5 years of work experience. After Mr. Gupta’s contributions, the IIT received $2 million from other IIT alumni. He has also donated money for a new science block at his former village school and provided buses for the girls’ school.
Moreover, the most recent of his contributions includes the setting up of a law school under the IIT umbrella with excellent infrastructure named under Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law
which is creating waves across India with its unique program.
In America, Mr. Gupta has donated $2 million to establish a curriculum for small business management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He’s also donated an additional $500,000 to the university to set up a scholarship fund for minority students who want to enter its science or engineering schools.
left the White House in January 2001, Gupta hired him as a consultant, a relationship that has continued. "Gupta has a long history of giving and raising campaign money for the Clintons, and gave $1 million for the 2000 Millennium Celebration, a New Year's Party thrown by the Clintons. When he was president, Bill Clinton named Gupta to the Kennedy Center board of directors. Gupta also got to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom with his wife . He gave another million to the Clinton Presidential Library."
In June 2007, Gupta praised Clinton's work for the company. "He helps us meet some of the right people," he told the Omaha World-Herald. "In many speeches, he has mentioned InfoUSA by name." Gupta said...It takes money to make money. By spending money , Gupta networked into the power elites of Washington, New York and Bay Area. He brought hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue through his contacts at Google, Microsoft, AOL, Cisco, Democratic Party, Ebay, HP and hundreds of other corporations. He has one of the biggest rolodex in the business"
.
InfoUSA
Infogroup, Inc., is a data, research and marketing company which offers email marketing and other marketing services. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Papillion, Nebraska. Infogroup employs approximately 3,200 people and operates in 9 countries.- History :Infogroup was formed in...
). Mr. Gupta served as CEO of the company from the time of its incorporation in 1972 until September 1997 and from August 1998 to August 2008. Borrowing $100 from a bank to get started, it has grown from a one-man operation to a global employer of over 5,000 with revenues of $750 million. During this period he acquired over 45 companies. InfoGroup was sold in july 2010 for $680 million
He was recognized in Bill Clinton’s book Giving, describing the company as one that “has made a concerted effort to hire people who were on welfare, as well as people who are disabled or who have to support themselves after getting out of unsafe domestic situations.”
He was appointed by President Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to serve as a Trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C. Mr. Gupta was also nominated and confirmed to be the United States Consul General to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
as well as nominated by the President to be the United States Ambassador to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
Education
Vinod Gupta was born in the small town of Rampur Maniharan, located 100 miles north of New Delhi, a small town (village) near SaharanpurSaharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur District as well as Saharanpur Division...
(Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
). After graduating high school, Mr. Gupta applied to the Indian Institutes of Technology
Indian Institutes of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...
(IIT) and was admitted into the IIT Kharagpur campus, majoring in agricultural engineering where he was consistently bottom of his class. Upon completion of that degree in 1967, Mr. Gupta moved to the United States to get his masters degree. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with an MS
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
Agricultural Engineering in 1969 and an MBA in 1971. He was awarded honorary doctorate by Monterey Institute, University of Nebraska, and IIT Kharagpur . He also delivered the commencement address at IIT Kharagpur in 2006
Early career
In his first job after college Mr. Gupta was hired as a marketing research analyst with Commodore Corporation, a manufacturer of mobile homes. While at Commodore, Vin was assigned the task of gathering a list of every single mobile home dealer in the United States. He found all the sources available to be outdated and incomplete. He then ordered all available 4,800 Yellow Page phone directories and set out to compile the list himself.With the help of another employee, Vinod sorted the books state by state. Commodore said they could work on the project on their own time and once completed, the company would consider buying the list. After the list was completed, Vinod gave them two options: pay $9,000 for exclusive rights to it or receive it free of charge and allow Vinod and his partner to sell it to Commodore’s competitors. Balking at the $9,000 cost, Commodore chose the latter option.
Borrowing $100 from a local Nebraska bank, Vinod invested the money in mailers he sent out to other mobile home manufacturers. Within three weeks he had received checks for $22,000 and orders for another $13,000. Vinod had found his niche, now he just had to come up with a more efficient way to collect the data.
By 1992, the company had revenue of $42 million and became publicly traded on NASDAQ Since then, Mr Gupta acquired over 45 companies and built it into an information power house
Charitable Foundation
Vin has decided to give all his wealth to charity. He believed in 'Learn, Earn and Return'Mr. Gupta recognizes the value of education and how it has changed his life. As a result, he has made education a primary beneficiary for his charitable contributions. “Through his charitable foundation, Vinod has helped advance education across fields including: business, science, information technology, communications, intellectual property law and wildlife preservation.” Most recently he donated $1 million for a women’s polytechnic in his village of Rampur Manhyaran, a small town near Saharanpur
Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur District as well as Saharanpur Division...
in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
state. The Polytechnic was inaugurated by the former US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
In addition he gave his alma mater, Indian Institute of Technology, $2 million to create the Vinod Gupta School of Management
Vinod Gupta School of Management
The Vinod Gupta School of Management is a business school in India. It was established in 1993 at IIT Kharagpur and was the first management school to be setup within the IIT system....
. The institute now offers an MBA program to engineering graduates with 5 years of work experience. After Mr. Gupta’s contributions, the IIT received $2 million from other IIT alumni. He has also donated money for a new science block at his former village school and provided buses for the girls’ school.
Moreover, the most recent of his contributions includes the setting up of a law school under the IIT umbrella with excellent infrastructure named under Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law
Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law
Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law is a Law school based at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. It was set up in collaboration with the George Washington University Law School, Washington DC and has the unique distinction of being the only law school within the IIT system...
which is creating waves across India with its unique program.
In America, Mr. Gupta has donated $2 million to establish a curriculum for small business management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He’s also donated an additional $500,000 to the university to set up a scholarship fund for minority students who want to enter its science or engineering schools.
Relationship with the Clintons
After Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
left the White House in January 2001, Gupta hired him as a consultant, a relationship that has continued. "Gupta has a long history of giving and raising campaign money for the Clintons, and gave $1 million for the 2000 Millennium Celebration, a New Year's Party thrown by the Clintons. When he was president, Bill Clinton named Gupta to the Kennedy Center board of directors. Gupta also got to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom with his wife . He gave another million to the Clinton Presidential Library."
In June 2007, Gupta praised Clinton's work for the company. "He helps us meet some of the right people," he told the Omaha World-Herald. "In many speeches, he has mentioned InfoUSA by name." Gupta said...It takes money to make money. By spending money , Gupta networked into the power elites of Washington, New York and Bay Area. He brought hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue through his contacts at Google, Microsoft, AOL, Cisco, Democratic Party, Ebay, HP and hundreds of other corporations. He has one of the biggest rolodex in the business"
Super Bowl Ad
SalesGenie.com, a service of infoUSA, ran a television advertisement during Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
.