Kesavan highlights the importance of “networking” and “sharing ideas.”
MCLEAN, Virginia: The Washington, DC, chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs honored Sudhakar Kesavan, Chairman and CEO of the Fairfax, VA, -based ICF, its 2016 Legend award on Friday.
TiE DC President Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy and President-elect Sheela Murthy handed over the award to the Washington, DC, area entrepreneur at the organization’s annual gala held here at the Capital One building on December 9.
The TiE DC Legend is awarded to an outstanding entrepreneur for their risk-taking, dedication to the Greater Washington, DC, community, mentoring of young entrepreneurs and philanthropy.
“Sudhakar was chosen by the board and the committee due to his leadership in building one of the largest international consulting firms, based in Fairfax, VA,” Dr. Priyadarshy said. “At ICF, 73 languages are spoken and 80 countries are represented. The female representation in the company is 49 percent in leadership and 38% in board membership. The ICF is one of the first companies to go carbon neutral. Sudhakar’s philanthropic engagements in the area and globally are numerous.”
Dr. Priyadarshy added that Kesavan, “a key supporter and promoter of TiE, has mentored a number of young entrepreneurs and companies, in line with the spirit of TiE.”
“ICF’s growth is one of the most impressive stories of entrepreneurship that our region has ever seen,” Murthy, prominent immigration attorney, said, introducing Kesavan. “With several heartfelt initiatives, he has ensured that ICF is a corporate citizen almost without peer.”
Murthy pointed out that ICF has been on the forefront of fight against climate change back in the 1990s — much “before it was hip.”
ICF, a publicly traded company, is one of the largest global consulting firms specializing in energy and infrastructure, and health and social programs. The company, which has more than 60 offices around the world, had revenue of $1.13 billion in 2015, according to its annual report.
Kesavan, who has an MS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1984), a postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad (1978) and a bachelor of technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (1976), joined ICF as an Associate in 1983.
He led ICF’s IPO in 2006 and a secondary offering three years later.
In his brief acceptance speech, Kesavan highlighted the importance of “networking” and “sharing ideas” using platforms such as TiE. Pointing out his own long association with TiE, he said, “I do think that it has helped me enormously, and I would encourage you and encourage others whom you know to come and join TiE.”