“Forging” the Way to Success
Since graduating from UMBC, alumnus Paresh Shah has successfully navigated the fickle waters of the business world many times over. Now, the highly accomplished businessman and entrepreneur is paving the way for his own success by helping others do the same.
Shah is founding partner and managing director of Forge Advisors, a leading international management consultancy firm that provides valuable business advice to Fortune 1000 clients and entrepreneurs. Forge Advisors helps clients gain or maintain a competitive edge by working with them to formulate business strategies, to identify and evaluate business opportunities, and to launch new products, services or businesses.
A successful academic as well as businessman, Shah graduated first in his engineering class at UMBC, earning his B.S. with honors, including the Chancellors Prize, Phi Kappa Phi and President of the Honors Student Association. UMBC provided me with the essential knack for problem solving that all successful entrepreneurs must possess, says Shah.
From UMBC, Shah went on to the Harvard School of Business Administration to earn his MBA. While at Harvard, he founded his first company, Tribeca Designs, which marketed and manufactured consumer and office products. He authored several Harvard Business School cases studies in marketing and distribution, and is currently president of the Wireless Industries Council for the Harvard Business Schools Technology Alumni Association. He also serves on the board of directors of the Indian CEO council and KSJ Travel holding, and is a charter member of TIE, the Indus Entrepreneur.
Shah’s consulting expertise draws upon his extensive experience as a businessman and entrepreneur. He was senior vice president of business development and strategic sales at Cidera, a wireless satellite networking company. Prior to this, he was vice president of marketing and business development for Aether Systems, a wireless data communications firm. Shah gained managerial experience working as an operations and program manager for Northrop Grumman Corporations (formerly Westinghouse) and gained consulting experience working for Monitor Company, a strategic consultancy firm founded by Harvard Business School professors, as well as from his work at Gemini Consulting. His strong entrepreneurial spirit led him to found the company SafeExchange, which provided software and services to help companies securely conduct business. He later strategically sold SafeExchange to a publicly traded firm.
In addition to working with companies, Shah also applies his business skills to help guide students on the road to business success. He is an adjunct professor for the MBA program at the University of Marylands Robert Smith School of Business.
