Executive Team

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Board of Directors

Anees Ahmed, Director

Anees Ahmed is the Chairman of Mistral. He founded the company along with Rajeev Ramachandra. An entrepreneur since the age of 25, Anees has been the driving force behind Mistral’s phenomenal growth & success. His dynamic leadership and exemplary vision has been instrumental in the transformation of the company

from its humble beginnings to its present status as one of the most respected global players in the embedded systems domain.

Backed by more than 18 years of Sales & Business Development experience, Anees spearheads the Business Development & Strategic Planning operations of the Company.

Prior to setting up Mistral, Anees had a successful career at Pertech Computers Ltd. and later with Cranes Software as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Anees holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science Engineering from BIT, Bangalore. Anees is an active member of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and a graduate from MIT's three year "Birthing Of Giants" program, attended by fast-growth CEO's selected from around the world.

Rajeev Ramachandra, Director

One of the founders of Mistral, Rajeev brings with him over 18 years of experience in hardware design. Having started his career at Wipro R & D, Rajeev moved on to Cranes Software as Technical Director and is credited with the setting up of the company‘s Research & Development unit and its growth into a full-fledged design services outfit.

The R&D division at Mistral has been set up and nurtured by him. All product designs pass through his expert supervision. In his role as the Director of Mistral, Rajeev oversees all day to day operational functions of the company. A BE in Computer Science Engineering from Bangalore University, Rajeev has vast experience in processor-based designs from embedded systems to VME, PCI, cPCI and USB bus based systems. He has also worked extensively on Intel family and DSP-based CPUs.

R J Sridhar, Director

RJ Sridhar is the Associate Director (South Asia) at JAFCO Asia. Based in Singapore, RJ handles JAFCO Asia’s investment efforts in South Asian markets including India.

Prior to joining JAFCO Asia, RJ worked as a Senior Associate with Morgan Stanley in New York, in the Equity Research division. He covered companies in the U.S. Communications Equipment sector with a combined market capitalization of about $300 billion, spanning the wire line, wireless and enterprise data networking segments.

RJ received his B.E. in Electronics & Communications from the Madras University in India, and a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the Ohio State University in the U.S. He completed his MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business specializing in finance and general management.

Mujahid Alam, Director

	As the Vice President-Sales at Mistral, Mujahid heads the sales operations of Mistral Solutions. Mujahid co-ordinates all sales and marketing operations of Mistral Solutions, ensuring a consistent program to support customer needs and drive customer satisfaction.
Mujahid, who holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from BIT, Bangalore, India, has been with Mistral since its inception in 1997. He brings years of technology-driven sales and marketing experience in managing operations. It is his vast experience and tactical knowledge that has guided the company to operational viability and success. Close

Sandeep Singhal, Director

Sandeep Singhal, a renowned entrepreneur has been one of the pioneers of Venture Capital in India. He has co-founded several leading companies including Nexus Venture Partners Medusind Solutions and eVentures India. He has had several successful investments, including CustomerAsset, Mentorix Solutions, Intigma, and MakeMyTrip. Sandeep has also held senior roles at McKinsey & Company, Digital Equipment and EDA Systems.

Sandeep obtained his Masters in Business Administration from The Wharton School with a dual Major in Finance and Marketing. He also has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He is on the Board of TiE Mumbai, and is actively involved with the Entrepreneurs Organization and the Wharton and Stanford India Alumni Associations.

Arun Sinha, Advisor

Arun Sinha is a visionary with over 30 years of experience, with close to three fourth of his career in Information Technology industry, where he held senior positions. He was formerly the Managing Director of Acer India Pvt. Ltd.,and AgreeYa Solutions, a U.S based software organization.

For the past seven years he has focused his entire attention in providing quality care in health & education to the under privileged sections of society. He has been associated with Scale, an NGO providing easy access to primary health care, quality education and checking environmental degradation. Arun Sinha obtained his Master's Degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. He has also attended the III TP course from IIM, Ahmedabad.

Venkatakrishna Araveti, Special Invitee

	Venkatakrishna heads the Hardware Design group at Mistral. Having joined Mistral in 1997 as a Project Manager, Krishna has worked closely with the hardware design team. He has extensive experience in Analog Devices’ DSPs and has provided solutions on their Floating point and Fixed-point processors for various defense and aero applications.
Krishna began his career in 1992 as a hardware design engineer with Dynalog Marketing Services, where he played a major role in developing automatic test equipments and simulators for LCA controllers. He later joined Cranes Software in 1995, as Product Support Executive, involved in supporting DSP based products from dSPACE GmBH Close

Executive Management Team

Anees Ahmed, President and CEO

Anees Ahmed is the President and CEO of Mistral. He founded the company along with Rajeev Ramachandra. An entrepreneur since the age of 25, Anees has been the driving force behind Mistral’s phenomenal growth & success. His dynamic leadership and exemplary vision has been instrumental in the transformation of the company

from its humble beginnings to its present status as one of the most respected global players in the embedded systems domain.

Backed by more than 18 years of Sales & Business Development experience, Anees spearheads the Business Development & Strategic Planning operations of the Company.

Prior to setting up Mistral, Anees had a successful career at Pertech Computers Ltd. and later with Cranes Software as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Rajeev Ramachandra, COO

The R&D division at Mistral has been set up and nurtured by him. All product designs pass through his expert supervision. In his role as the COO of Mistral, Rajeev oversees all day to day operational functions of the company. A BE in Computer Science Engineering from Bangalore University, Rajeev has vast experience in processor-based designs from embedded systems to VME, PCI, cPCI and USB bus based systems. He has also worked extensively on Intel family and DSP-based CPUs.

Govinda Bhat, CFO

Govinda Bhat heads the Finance and Accounts Operations at Mistral. He has over 16 years of experience in Finance, Accounts and Corporate Law matters at senior management level. Govinda holds an ACA (Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) and a FCS (Fellow Member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India).

Prior to joining Mistral he worked as Director Finance and Company Secretary with Kyocera Wireless. His illustrious career also includes 3 years of international experience working with Haji Hassan Group in the Middle East.

Mujahid Alam, Vice President-Sales

As the Vice President-Sales at Mistral, Mujahid heads the sales operations of Mistral Solutions. Mujahid co-ordinates all sales and marketing operations of Mistral Solutions, ensuring a consistent program to support customer needs and drive customer satisfaction.

Mujahid, who holds a Bachelor's Degree in

Mechanical Engineering from BIT, Bangalore, India, has been with Mistral since its inception in 1997. He brings years of technology-driven sales and marketing experience in managing operations. It is his vast experience and tactical knowledge that has guided the company to operational viability and success.

Venkatakrishna Araveti, Vice President-Hardware Design

	Venkatakrishna heads the Hardware Design group at Mistral. Having joined Mistral in 1997 as a Project Manager, Krishna has worked closely with the hardware design team. He has extensive experience in Analog Devices’ DSPs and has provided solutions on their Floating point and Fixed-point processors for various defense and aero applications.
Krishna began his career in 1992 as a hardware design engineer with Dynalog Marketing Services, where he played a major role in developing automatic test equipments and simulators for LCA controllers. He later joined Cranes Software in 1995, as Product Support Executive, involved in supporting DSP based products from dSPACE GmBH Close

Samyeer Metrani, Vice President - Services (USA)

With over 17 years of experience in the field of Product Design & Development, Samyeer has done extensive work in the field of embedded systems, having worked on real-time control systems, robotic systems, Voice over IP, and other embedded products.

As VP-Services Samyeer spearheads Mistral’s

development activities in the US. He is also actively involved in Mistral’s emerging offerings on TI’s OMAP and DaVinci Platforms.

Prior to joining Mistral, Samyeer served as General Manager, Encore Software Ltd. While at Encore he was credited with the design and development of the SATHI Battle Computer. He was also the driving force behind the Encore Simputer, and other embedded platforms built at Encore.

Samyeer has a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Bangalore University and an MBA in Software Enterprise Management from The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).

Commander V K Santhanam, Vice President - Quality Assurance and V&V

Cdr. VK Santhanam, brings in over 35 years of experience in Systems Design & Development and Project Management in his role as Vice President (Quality Assurance and V&V).

A post-graduate in Electronics & Telecommunication, he is a specialist in Databus Systems, Simulators and C4I Systems Design, Development & Integration.

Cdr. Santhanam has served in the Indian Navy as Electrical & Weapons officer on board Naval Ships, Repair Yards and Naval HQ. He has also served as Chief Instructor at a Naval Training establishment, training officers in Sensors, Weapon Systems, Digital Technology , Signal processing , Software & Technology subjects.

Across his illustrious career he has played a stellar role in the implementation of Military, Commercial & Industrial Design & Development Standards such as MIL2167 A, MIL 498, RTCA/DO-178 B, RTCA/ DO-254, ISO 9001:2008 Tick IT and CMMi up to Level 5 for various Aerospace & Marine Systems both for Commercial and Military applications.

Sam Thomas, Vice President – Security Systems

Sam Thomas has over 20 years of experience in Product Management, Marketing, and Sales across the IT vertical covering - hardware (PCs, servers and storage) and software (services and products).

As Vice President - Security Systems, he will head Mistral's IP Surveillance solutions business unit, marketing the Smartvue Wireless IP Surveillance product line.

A graduate in Economics, Sam has done his MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Prior to joining Mistral he was heading Product Management & Marketing for one of the business divisions at Acer India (Pvt.) Ltd.

Selvaraj Kaliyappan, General Manager - Hardware Design

	With over 15 years of experience in the field of Hardware Design & Product Development, Selva has been instrumental in shaping Mistral’s world class offerings in the areas of Defense and Aerospace, VLSI designs, High-speed Layout Designs & Analysis. As General Manager-Hardware Design, Selva specializes in design architecture, project management & IP creation at Mistral.
Selvaraj started his career as a Field Application Engineer with Digipro Systems Pvt. Ltd. Prior to joining Mistral he worked as Senior Design Engineer with Cranes where he was actively involved with the design & development of DSP based products. He has a Bachelors Degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli. Close