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Episode 020 – David Gupta, Founder & CEO, SDI Presence LLC

On this episode of the Executives’ Exchange, we’re joined by David Gupta, CEO and Founder of SDI Presence. David sits down to discuss pivotal moments in his career—from leaving the family company and moving to the west coast, to his short stint in retirement and coming home to Chicago. David discusses his company’s focus on presence and his commitment to developing and hiring diverse talent. Tune in to learn how he continues expanding on his father’s legacy of giving back to the community and creating opportunities for future generations.

01:11 – Early years—The Gupta family moves from India to Chicago’s suburbs; David discusses his father’s passion for engineering and construction and giving back to the community.
03:33 – David discusses leaving the family company to fill a void in IT
05:36 – Founding SDI—rewarding, frustrating, and challenging big leap
07:48 – David discusses the benefits of adding a private equity company
10:22 – David discusses SDI’s expanding customer base
13:43 – David founds Presence Group Ventures (PGV) and merges PGV & SDI
16:17 – The Great City of Chicago—David talks about the benefits of Chicago for business
19:43 – David explains the significance of adding ‘presence’ to SDI
21:50 – Balancing SDI Presence on the West Coast and Midwest and integrating culture.
28:12 – Recruiting diverse talent and understanding the financial support and mentoring needed to increase more people of color in the industry
35:30 – David discusses diversity —management, employees, mentors, and supplier diversity and bringing wealth into communities
39:00 – SDI Presence’s First Chance Initiative
42:41 – David discusses his passion for philanthropy
46:10 – Rapid Fire

Episode links: Chicago Apprentice NetworkSDI PresenceP33 Chicago

Host: Margaret Mueller, CEO & President, The Executives’ Club of Chicago
Producer: Eva Penar, Chief Content & Communications Officer, The Executives’ Club of Chicago

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