Executive Team

Sunil Kumar - Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Kumar founded Assyst in 1993 and has a career spanning twenty (20) years in the Information Technology field.  He is responsible for overseeing the key components of the company growth including strategic planning, business development, selection and evaluation of the board members, supporting the operations and administration of the board and interfacing between the board and the staff. He is also responsible for recommending the yearly budgets and prudently managing the organization’s resources and growth within the budget guidelines. Mr. Kumar also oversaw the implementation of a company-wide Employee Stock Option Plan, Employee Stock Ownership Plan and other benefits plans to motivate employee participation.

Mr. Kumar started his career as a Software Engineer with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) supporting their custom development and MRP implementation on the VAX platform in India and Boston, Massachusetts. He was involved in pre-sales, design, development and implementation of a number of clients using VAX/VMS including Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Westinghouse and Kelloggs. Mr. Kumar has since served in various capacities including Software Architect, Program Manager and Project Manager, leading enterprise wide initiatives for organizations such as IBM, Boeing (formerly McDonald Douglas), Nortel Networks, Comsearch and International Monetary Fund. His experience ranges from managing and designing custom software solutions to implementing COTS ERP solutions.

Mr. Kumar holds an MBA in Marketing with an undergraduate in Physics, Mathematics and Statistics.

Shyama P. Mandal - President
Shyama P. Mandal joined Assyst in 1994 and serves as the President of the company. In his career spanning over 20 years, he has held key positions in implementing large-scale information technology systems using leading-edge technologies. Mr. Mandal started his career as a software engineer with CMC Ltd. At CMC Mr. Mandal worked on implementing first nationwide data network based on IBM’s Systems Network Architecture (SNA) in India. He also developed and implemented corporate MIS system for CMC. He later participated in re-engineering of mainframe based system used by London Underground for their time table and signal data generation. Mr. Mandal then led the design and implementation of the system for timetabling and operation plan generation system using UNIX and RDBMS for the world’s largest and oldest metro railway.

Mr. Mandal worked as a consultant at IBM to automate the process of application of maintenance and upgrades to software portfolio in OS/390 environment using System Modification Program Extended (SMP/E).

Mr. Mandal has also worked at The World Bank as lead for financial system on VAX/VMS to disburse payment across the globe. Mr. Mandal also consulted extensively at other international financial organizations to re-engineer, design, develop and deploy financial transaction systems. Mr. Mandal, along with the Executive Team is responsible for executing the strategies and vision of the organization. Mr. Mandal holds an MS in Computer Engineering and BS in Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India.

Joseph A. Anderson - Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Anderson joined Assyst as Director of Operations in 1997.  In 1999 he assumed the position of Vice President of Operations.  In 2004 he was appointed to Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Anderson oversees aspects of the company’s domestic and international operations, including corporate services, operations and sales and marketing services. As COO, Mr. Anderson advises the President and CEO on strategic business development and key corporate planning issues and makes recommendations on major business decisions.  As COO Mr. Anderson keeps the President and CEO informed about business activities, potential threats, opportunities, and recommended actions.

Mr. Anderson, together with the President and CEO oversees the implementation of an effective business organization to build critical core competencies and organizational values. Mr. Anderson directs operating and long-term strategic responsibilities for sales and marketing, operations, accounting and legal.

From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Anderson was Deputy Director of Operations for RDI International an organization primarily involved in providing consultation services to the World Bank, USAID, Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNDP and several U.S. Universities.  Mr. Anderson determined resource allocation, shaped and developed the strategy and implemented systems required to organize and support international scientists, lawyers, and administrators.  Mr. Anderson ensured the proper report structure within the organization, and encouraged managers and consultants to evaluate and take actions consistent with the overall strategy.

From 1987 to 1992, Mr. Anderson was a production coordinator, production engineer, and operations manager for HDS, Inc., an engineering firm that developed systems, communications equipment, and devices for several federal, state and local agencies.   Mr. Anderson managed technicians, engineers and other managers, he set performance goals, and developed operational goals that were tied to long-term goals.   Mr. Anderson monitored division performance against performance goals, and he ensured adherence to annual budget.   Mr. Anderson holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from MTSU, and an MBA from Virginia Tech.

Vinay Shirke - Chief Information Officer
Vinay Shirke joined Assyst in 1996 and currently serves as the Chief Information Officer. In 1999, he assumed the position of Vice President of Technical Services and was appointed as Chief Information Officer in 2005. Mr. Shirke has been instrumental in defining and re-engineering of the business processes within the organization. Mr. Shirke manages the company’s long-term strategic technological vision, and ensures that Assyst clients can leverage the process and the technology edge that the company strives to achieve continuously. He also is responsible for establishing and directing for Assyst‘s internal system needs to accomplish its business needs.

Mr. Shirke started his career as a software engineer with a division of Sony in their internal IT department designing and developing custom Financial Accounting and Materials Management System. He later joined for one of the leading pharmaceutical companies as a software architect in their ERP team, and helped build a custom ERP system consisting of Financial Accounting, Production Planning, Material Management and Manufacturing.

Prior to joining Assyst, Mr. Shirke served as a lead architect in re-engineering the core business systems for Comsearch, a telecommunication firm based in Virginia from Prime to Sun Solaris. Mr. Shirke lead the business process re-engineering, database design and migration effort for this initiative. 
 
Saju Varghese - Sr. Vice President, Program Solutions
Saju Varghese joined Assyst in 2004 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Program Solutions. He is responsible for leading, developing and managing programs in the Federal, State and Local sectors and ensuring that customer expectations relating to performance and quality are achieved. Mr. Varghese is responsible for building the customer base of the company and for better utilization of corporate resources to improve services provided to customers. He also advises the President and the COO on strategic initiatives and business growth areas. Mr. Varghese has over 16 years of experience in the IT industry primarily in the areas of Program Management, Project Management and Business Development.

Prior to joining Assyst, from 1996 to 2002, he worked for Satyam Computer Services where he was responsible for Client Relationship Management and Business Development. He was instrumental in formulating the vision and strategy for their public sector vertical and leading their business development efforts. His other engagements with IT organizations were with Kshema Technologies, Frontier Information Technologies Limited and Graphtech Computers.

Mr. Varghese has a Masters Degree in Engineering Management with a specialization in Knowledge Management from George Washington University and an MBA from Osmania University. He is also PMP and ITIL Certified.