SDI Presence Appoints Former CIO and Amazon/Cisco Executive Hardik Bhatt to Chief Executive Officer

Co-Founder David Gupta Assumes Executive Chairman Role, Focus on Long-Term Customer Engagement

CHICAGO, March 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SDI Presence LLC (SDI), the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Corporate Plus-certified IT consultancy and managed services provider (MSP), announced that Hardik Bhatt has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Formerly the firm's President and Chief Growth Officer, Bhatt succeeds the firm's co-founder David A. Gupta, who will assume the newly created role of Executive Chairman.

Prior to joining SDI in June 2021, Bhatt was part of the Amazon Web Services' State & Local Government leadership team and built their Digital Government Startups business. While Senior Director of Global Business Development at Cisco, Bhatt played a critical role in developing their Smart and Connected Communities and Internet of Everything (IoE) business for the global public sector. Bhatt served as the CIO for the City of Chicago and for the State of Illinois, working as a cabinet member for both Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) and Governor Bruce Rauner (R). At the State of Illinois, Bhatt created and led a new IT agency – the Department of Innovation and Technology – with 1,500+ employees and nearly $1B in annual budget. A well-respected civic leader and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives Club of Chicago, The Chicago Club and Hyde Park Angels, Bhatt is on boards of the Fermi National Labs, World Business Chicago, and Chicago Innovation. He worked on Mayor Emanuel's ChicagoNext initiative as well as with the former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and the Commercial Club of Chicago on the founding committee of P33, a tech economy focused non-profit.

"Hardik brings a combination of public and private sector experience with executive relationships across Cities, States and large corporations," said Gupta, the new Executive Chairman of SDI. "As a former CIO, he makes instant connections with other CIOs. He relates to their specific challenges, budget constraints, and end-customer expectations. We are excited about SDI's growth under his leadership."

During his tenure at SDI, Bhatt has formalized the firm's application and infrastructure modernization portfolio of services including cloud, IT Service Management (ITSM) and ServiceNow, and cybersecurity offerings. SDI has been selected by several city and state agencies to roadmap and migrate their legacy environments to hybrid multicloud architecture, leveraging close AWS and Microsoft partnerships to achieve cost-effective, scalable performance. SDI's ITSM practice consists of seasoned ServiceNow Architects, Process Consultants, Business Analysts and Developers who build on clients' Digital Transformation initiatives, with the firm recently earning ServiceNow Premier Partner status. As a long-term IT managed services provider, SDI's cybersecurity program addresses the specific nuances of mission-critical IT environments, delivering cybersecurity assessments, vCISO services, and Managed Security Services.

"I am looking forward to applying my experience as a two-time CIO and an industry thought leader to deliver value for SDI's customers," said Bhatt. "In partnership with David and (SDI private-equity investor) Abry Partners, the SDI team and I will continue to drive successful digital transformations for our customers, engage meaningfully in community, and deliver strong sustainable growth for our company and our colleagues."

Under Bhatt, SDI will continue its active commitment to the diverse communities it serves. From a supply chain diversity perspective, SDI spent $19M (47% of its corporate spend) with diverse partners in 2022, on track with its commitment to achieve a minimum of $100M cumulative spend with its diverse partner firms for the five years between 2022 and 2026. At the end of 2022, the firm also received Corporate Plus designation from the NMSDC, which recognizes its high standards of client focus, efficient execution, innovative problem-solving, and capacity to fulfill national contracts. SDI is one of only 23 minority-owned IT services firms in the US to achieve Corporate Plus status and is actively working with clients in the Utilities and Commercial sectors to help drive their technology forward while reaching their diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

SDI's Private Equity investing partners, Abry Partners, shared they are also excited about SDI's continued growth under Bhatt's leadership: "We see this as a key leadership change to allow David to focus on his passion, to be with customers, and leverage Hardik's experience and expertise in his new role as the CEO of SDI Presence," said Brian St. Jean, Partner of Abry Partners.

About SDI Presence LLC (www.sdipresence.com)
SDI Presence LLC is an IT consultancy and managed services provider (MSP) that leverages its strong team presence to advance our clients to a secure digital enterprise. With a 25-year corporate resume, SDI delivers strategic managed services, IT consulting, and multicloud solutions to optimize our clients' technology environments. SDI is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) with Corporate Plus designation from the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), with a portfolio of clients that includes some of the nation's largest airports, utilities, commercial real estate portfolios, and government agencies. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Christina Belmont
SDI Presence LLC
VP of Marketing
312.580.7500
[email protected]

SOURCE SDI Presence LLC