This year’s William F. Glaser ’53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year award will be presented to A. Preetham Parigi at the celebration this afternoon. The event will be held at 2 pm in the Concert Hall of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. The Award recognizes successful entrepreneurs whose vision, commitment, and creativity exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit that is Rensselaer’s past, present, and future. Those honored with this award bring the world of entrepreneurship into Rensselaer’s classrooms and laboratories.
Parigi, managing director of Entertainment Network (India) Limited and chief executive officer of Times Infotainment Media Limited, transformed India with Radio Mirchi’s launch in 2000 when India privatized the radio industry. As radio was an ignored technology at the time, this launch transformed Indian media by catering to the previously overlooked 600 million Indians under the age of 30. Parigi noted that he never gave up on his dream to transform the way Indians used the radio, despite many who told him it wouldn’t work. He detailed how over 250 radio stations emerged in just 30 months, stating, “So when the elephant learns to dance, watch out.”
Parigi stated that the most important distinction for entrepreneurs is whether they look at a difficult situation as a crisis or an opportunity. In talking about the current U.S. economy, he noted how Americans are running around like “headless chickens,” worrying that everything is going to end negatively because of the economy; however, he thinks that the U.S. needs to look at this as an opportunity rather than a crisis and that the nation must take its time to build back the economy rather than expect it to fix itself in such a short time.
Parigi noted that one of the most striking moments while spending time in the Capital Region was when he saw a few younger children looking at a display of nanotechnology in the Colonie Center mall. He said that this was the type of curiosity that would eventually be needed to build strong enterprises—a curiosity for the way math and science works. Parigi believes that RPI can be at the center of this movement. “RPI is sitting at the crossroads of history,” he said, stating that younger children need role models and that RPI can provide that as well as the leadership needed to “walk through a door toward stability and prosperity.”
Parigi said that what makes an entrepreneur is seeing that “every challenge is an opportunity for growth.”
