Abbas Sadriwala
Encyclopedia
Abbas Sadriwalla is chairman and CEO of the Fort Lauderdale-based Wireless Logix Group of seven companies, which offer a full bouquet of Wi-Fi technologies and solutions.
in the Mewar
region of Rajasthan
(hence the name Sadriwalla), from where he migrated to Mumbai
as a penniless teenager. After working for several years with a rubber products company, he set up his own rubber firm which eventually grew into Rubber Industries India Pvt Ltd, one of the largest rubber products manufacturers in India till the 1970s.
Sadriwalla had to take charge of the family rubber business at the age of 18 after his father died prematurely in 1966. But he wanted to become a pilot, and opted to move to the United States
in 1973 to pursue his dream, leaving the family fortune to his three siblings.
Sadriwalla started life in the US from scratch, working in a string of shop floor jobs while financing his own pilot training. "I arrived," he remembers, "with very little money in my pocket." In 1976, he qualified as a commercial pilot and trained further to become a pilot instructor. Between 1978 and 1984, he taught flying in South Florida
. Always a technology buff, Sadriwalla spotted an opportunity to supply special purpose computers to the aviation industry in 1990 and successfully launched a company called ADS (Application Designed Systems) Associates. After specialty computers became less relevant in a rapidly changing technology marketplace, he diversified into the pager business and built a highly profitable company called Pageco International to manufacture pager crystals. As pagers were displaced by cell phones, Abbas moved into Wi-Fi technology.
, in a ceremony presided over by US President George Bush
. Sadriwalla has also been awarded The Colonel James Tod International Award by the Maharana Mewar Foundation in Udaipur
.
History
Sadriwalla is himself of Mewari origin. His father comes from the village of Bari SadriBari Sadri
Bari Sadri is a city and a municipality in Chittaurgarh district in the state of Rajasthan, India.-Geography:Bari Sadri is located at . It has an average elevation of .-Demographics:...
in the Mewar
Mewar
Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...
region of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
(hence the name Sadriwalla), from where he migrated to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
as a penniless teenager. After working for several years with a rubber products company, he set up his own rubber firm which eventually grew into Rubber Industries India Pvt Ltd, one of the largest rubber products manufacturers in India till the 1970s.
Sadriwalla had to take charge of the family rubber business at the age of 18 after his father died prematurely in 1966. But he wanted to become a pilot, and opted to move to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1973 to pursue his dream, leaving the family fortune to his three siblings.
Sadriwalla started life in the US from scratch, working in a string of shop floor jobs while financing his own pilot training. "I arrived," he remembers, "with very little money in my pocket." In 1976, he qualified as a commercial pilot and trained further to become a pilot instructor. Between 1978 and 1984, he taught flying in South Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Always a technology buff, Sadriwalla spotted an opportunity to supply special purpose computers to the aviation industry in 1990 and successfully launched a company called ADS (Application Designed Systems) Associates. After specialty computers became less relevant in a rapidly changing technology marketplace, he diversified into the pager business and built a highly profitable company called Pageco International to manufacture pager crystals. As pagers were displaced by cell phones, Abbas moved into Wi-Fi technology.
Awards and honors
Sadriwalla was named Businessman of the Year in 2004 by the apex level National Republican Congressional CommitteeNational Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
, in a ceremony presided over by US President George Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Sadriwalla has also been awarded The Colonel James Tod International Award by the Maharana Mewar Foundation in Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
.
Personal life
Sadriwalla lives in Fort Lauderdale with his wife Deborah and sons Abbas and Alexander.External links
- Abbas Sadriwalla bio at India-Inc