Stars of Belgaum – Sudhir Kulkarni CTO and Vice President of Engineering at SellPoint Inc.

Sudhir Kulkarni is another Star of Belgaum who has made Belgaumites proud and put Belgaum on the world map. It gives me great pleasure to write about him here.

Sudhir was born in Belgaum and resided in Kali Ambrai (behind Rex Theatre). He attended three schools in Belgaum: Public School No. 29, Sardar’s High School and Beynon Smith High-School. During his schools years he was a brilliant student and won many awards in extra-curricular activities including Geeta chanting, Quiz competitions and drawing. Sudhir earned his Bachelor of Technology degree from the Regional Engineering College in Warangal and Master’s Degree from the Indian Institute of Technology at Chennai. He has also obtained Executive Business training from Harward University and Stanford University.

In a successful career spanning over 20 years, Mr. Kulkarni has held challenging positions with increasing responsibilities in renowned companies like Oracle and Informatica. He is experienced in evangelizing and delivering state-of-the-art software solutions in diverse disciplines such as internet applications, middleware, and system management tools.

Currently Mr. Kulkarni works as CTO and VP of Engineering for SellPoint Inc.  He oversees all technical activities including SellPoint’s patented Active Product Tour[TM] technology, on-demand application deployment and network infrastructure.

“We are fortunate to have Sudhir as the head of our engineering team,” said Rick Martin, President and CEO of SellPoint. “His track record in designing and delivering state-of-the-art technology solutions will further solidify the breadth and depth of our technology platform.”

“I love working for small companies because they’re always on the cutting edge,” Mr. Kulkarni said.

Sudhir, his wife Sujata and two children Sheila and Sameer currently live in California where he enjoys biking, swimming and spending time with his family. He also takes keen interest in Yoga, holistic medicine and wellness, which he enjoys sharing with others.

A few questions for you Sir.

1.            When did you leave Belgaum (Year)?

I left Belgaum in the year 1979.

2.           Some background of your family in Belgaum (as to your parent’s professions etc)?

My father late Sri. Chandrakant Kulkarni was renowned lawyer and mother late Smt. Sindhu Kulkarni (Naik) was a housewife. My sister Padmaja works in Karnataka Bank and resides in Pune.

3.           When was the last time you visited Belgaum? Or how often do you come to Belgaum? Is anyone from your family still in Belgaum?

I visited Belgaum in November of 2008, I usually visit every year. My aunt and many of cousins still live in Belgaum.

4.          Any plans to come back to Belgaum and start something here?

No concrete plans yet, I wouldn’t rule it out completely.

5.           At your time Belgaum did not have the best of engineering colleges, but now we have the VTU (Vishveshwaraya Technological University) and two well known engineering colleges. What to do you want to tell the youngsters passing out from there?

I am extremely happy to note that world-class education is now available in Belgaum.

For the passing graduates I would use the quote from Mark Twain “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

6.          You love working in small companies because they are always on the cutting edge, why haven’t you started one of your own.

I had started a couple of companies in the past but, I certainly plan to start a successful one in the future.

7.      A few words of encouragement on what the youngsters should do in this time of recession.

I like to use a quote from President John F. Kennedy:  “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word “crisis”. One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger — but recognize the opportunity.”

To the youngsters, I would say, Aim high, follow your dreams. Good luck and Godspeed ahead!

8.      What do you remember about Belgaum? Or what is that you miss a lot.

I have many fond memories of Belgaum including the heavy monsoon rains, early morning visits to temples and mouth-watering delicacies like Kunda, Maande and Misal. 

9.      What do you think about this website?

This is an outstanding effort which provides encouragement for youngsters and a way for people to keep in touch with Belgaum. The website has a great potential, I encourage you to actively promote it.  

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