Bhushan Kulkarni
President & CEO
Bhushan started GDI in April 1993, and he has grown GDI Infotech from a start-up to a profitable business solutions provider. Bhushan’s team-building and open-book approach to management has had a powerfully positive effect on the company’s development. This approach has allowed Bhushan to build a dynamic management team and respond to an ever-changing market by building new and innovative solutions.
Bhushan was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Michigan Technology Services for 2001. He has received the American Dreamer Award, "40 under 40" recognition and has been listed in Who’s Who in Technology Services by Crain’s Business Weekly Magazine. He strongly believes in giving back to the community and he has served / is serving on boards of several non-profit organizations in Michigan very actively. Some of these organizations include Ann Arbor SPARK, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Walsh College, Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce, Ann Arbor IT Zone, Ann Arbor Art Center, Information Technology Association of Michigan (ITEAM) and the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI).
Bhushan was born in India and came to the United States in 1985 to pursue graduate studies at West Virginia University. After earning his M.S. in Engineering, he joined the Ford Motor Company as a Project Engineer before embarking on exciting journey of entrepreneurship. His ventures besides GDI include InTouch Communications (a Telecommunication Systems and Software company), and other two start-ups for Voice processing Software Development and CAD/CAM/CAE Services.
George Levy
Executive Vice President and CFO
George Levy earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from UCLA in 1968 and joined the General Electric R&D Center. After five years and publication of his first book, he moved into academia. George continued his career in academia as a professor for over 20 years. During his tenure, he taught in the Chemistry and Biophysics programs, as well as in an interdisciplinary graduate Entrepreneurship program.
At the beginning of the second decade of his academic career, George and his wife started a software firm that became an Inc. 500 company in 1989. That same year the company was sold, providing its investors with a profitable exit. The process of growing his first company enhanced his interest in entrepreneurship and developing technology businesses.
George offers broad experience in corporate and financial strategy and vast knowledge of how businesses work. GDI is George's fourth Inc. 500 company.
Madhuri Deshpande
Executive Vice President and COO
Following the Soft-Link merger with GDI, Ms. Madhuri Deshpande is the Executive Vice-President and COO of GDI and her responsibilities include strategic development of Professional Services and Solutions divisions.
Ms. Madhuri Deshpande has over 25 years of experience in technology-related industries. She served as President of Soft-Link Inc, where she was involved in leading the start-up operation to Inc 5000 award, Washtenaw FastTrak, Future 50 of Greater Detroit awards in less than 8 years. Her earlier experience is in Software modeling, design, development, and project management experience; the later thirteen years of
Ms. Deshpande has been involved with the Association of Women in Computing (AWC) and Michigan Council for Women in Technology MCWT. She is actively involved with mentoring young women to enter technology fields.
Jim DiggsCorporate Development
Jim is responsible for strategy, corporate development and GDI's "Thought Leadership" roles. Jim has 30 years in technology companies with roles as vice president in ADP, IBM, BlueGill Technologies and in emerging start-up companies over the last 12 years including CEO of Adapted Wave Technologies and Mindport IBS.
Jim was part of the original management team of BlueGill Technologies where he was responsible for business development forging partnerships with IBM, Xerox, Netscape, Broadvision and Double Click. He also led the BlueGill product line strategy and market development. BlueGill was sold to CheckFree in 2000 for $250 million. Jim currently serves on the board of Cathedral Corporation.
Jim holds a BS degree in Applied Mathematics and Operations Research from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
John Poonnen
Senior Vice President, Solutions Division & Healthcare Practice
John is responsible for Information Management and Data Integration Services offered through the Solutions Division. He concentrates on developing scalable practices and solutions for Information Management, Data Integration and Advanced Analytics.
John offers over 30 years of international IT consulting, program management, product management and systems engineering experience with an in-depth knowledge of the healthcare, insurance and financial services domains. Previously John was the Vice President of the Health Care Payer Practice at CSC-Covansys and Director of Information Strategy / Enterprise Architecture at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.
John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).
David Behen
Vice President, Public Sector Practice
David is responsible for the Public Sector Practice that offers new technology, web-based and information-driven solutions and services to local and state governments and educational institutions. He brings experience from a distinguished career of over 14 years in public service with Washtenaw County, Michigan.
David has been a leader in driving technology improvements for a more efficient and transparent government. He has been named twice to the prestigious CIO 100 list of the top 100 IT programs by CIO Magazine, and Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40” list for outstanding professional achievement before the age of forty. He spearheaded the popular and successful Wireless Washtenaw effort two years ago to provide free or low-cost high-speed Internet access to the entire county through a public-private effort. Washtenaw County has been named six times as one of the nation’s Top Ten Digital Counties by the Center for Digital Government with the National Association of Counties (NACo).David has served as co-chair for the CIO Council for Public Technology Institute (PTI), the national non-profit research and technology organization based in Washington DC. He is presently serving on the Governing Board for the Regional Leadership Forum for the Society for Information Management (SIM). Mr. Behen holds a Master of Science in Public Administration Degree from Eastern Michigan University.
Mark Fontana
Vice President, Client Services & Financial Services Practice
Mark Fontana serves as our Vice President of Client Services and Financial Service Practice.
Mark has over 15 years of experience in IT fields. He has worked as a Practice Director at Commerce One in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In this position, he served both as an Operations and Engagement leader. At Commerce One, Mark helped clients such as CF Stinson, Toronto Dominion, Entergy and DaimlerChrysler to utilize the strengths of Commerce One’s core applications and services. Prior to Commerce One, Mark was a General Manager and Director of Operations at Bowne Internet Solutions and a Software Development Lead at Ford Motor Credit in Dearborn, Michigan where he developed the world’s first Internet-based commercial paper trading application.
Mark holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Michigan State University.