Vinod Gupta
| Vinod Gupta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945/1946 (age 70–71) Rampur Maniharan, near Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater |
Indian Institutes of Technology, Kharagpur University of Nebraska |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Laurel Gupta |
| Children | Benjamin Kane Gupta (deceased) Alexander Gupta Jess Gupta |
Vinod Gupta (born 1945/46) is an Indian-born American businessman, the former chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of infoGROUP (previously known as infoUSA). 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.
In 2010, Gupta created DatabaseUSA.com. In 2011, he developed Infofree.com that provides Business and Consumer leads. In 2012, Gupta developed LocateAMERICA.com. He was mentioned in Bill Clinton's book Giving, which described 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. 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
Gupta was born in the small town of Rampur Maniharan, located 100 miles (160 km) north of New Delhi, a small town (village) near Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh). After graduating high school, Gupta applied to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and was admitted into the IIT Kharagpur campus, majoring in agricultural engineering.
In 1964, he was commissioned in Indian Air Force as Flying Officer in Engineering Unit and resigned in 1967 with a rank of Squadron Leader in 14 Squadron.
In 1967, Gupta moved to the United States to get his master's degree. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with an MS in 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.
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