Dr. Anand Deshpande is the Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Persistent Systems and one of India’s pioneering technology entrepreneurs. Over the last three and a half decades, he has helped build Persistent from a small start-up in Pune into a globally recognised digital engineering company, contributing to India’s emergence as a trusted destination for technology innovation and product development.
Anand has long believed that engineering, entrepreneurship and strong institutions are the foundations of enduring economic and social progress. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of technology, education, research and public impact, helping create organisations and platforms that expand opportunity, strengthen institutions and build long-term capability.
He holds a B.Tech. (Hons.) in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Indiana University, Bloomington (USA). His contributions to engineering, technology and innovation have been recognised by both his alma maters, with the Career Achievement Award from Indiana University in 2007 and the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Kharagpur in 2012.
Prior to founding Persistent in 1990, he worked as a Member of Technical Staff at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Palo Alto, California.
Anand is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA). His contributions to technology, entrepreneurship and institution building have been recognised through several distinguished honours, including the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in the Services category in 2023, the ACM Presidential Award and the Engineering Council of India’s Eminent Engineer Award in 2024 and the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
Beyond Persistent, Anand has dedicated significant time to strengthening India’s innovation, research and entrepreneurship ecosystem. He is a founding trustee of Persistent Foundation and Persistent India Foundation, Co-Chair of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC), established by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Professor of Practice at both IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur.
His previous leadership and public service roles include serving as a part-time Member of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Patna, Chairman of the Board of Governors of VJTI Mumbai, Interim Chairman of IIIT Allahabad, Trustee of the VLDB Endowment and member of the governing boards of several academic and research institutions. He was the founding President of ACM India and has been associated with organisations such as iSPIRT, I4C, NASSCOM and the Computer History Museum.
Since transitioning from the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2019, Anand has increasingly focused on entrepreneurship, higher education, healthcare and institution-building. Through the deAsra Foundation, established by Anand and his family, more than 750,000 nano-entrepreneurs have been supported on their journey towards self-employment and business growth. Through the Second Orbit programme, created in collaboration with Dr. Ashok Korwar, he has helped hundreds of founders and business leaders build stronger, more scalable organisations.
He is also actively involved in initiatives that use data, technology and research to improve healthcare outcomes in India, particularly in cancer and diabetes. His work in these areas reflects a continuing belief that technology and data can be harnessed to address some of society’s most important challenges.
Across business, academia, public policy and social initiatives, Anand has consistently championed engineering excellence, entrepreneurship and institution building as powerful drivers of long-term economic and social progress.
Anand is married to Sonali and they have an entrepreneur daughter, a son and a daughter-in-law.
