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

Feb 1, 2022

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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.

Host of this episode: Margaret Mueller, CEO & President of the Executives' Club of Chicago

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 PGV Solutions 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

Host of this episode: Margaret Mueller, CEO & President of the Executives' Club of Chicago

Producer: Eva Penar, Chief Content & Communications Officer, the Executives' Club of Chicago

https://www.sdipresence.com/ www.chicagoapprenticenetwork.org https://p33chicago.com/tech-talent-report/

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