Dr.Sam Pitroda, born in Orissa, is an inventor, entrepreneur and policy maker. Currently, Chairman of Indias National Knowledge Commission, he is widely considered to have been responsible for India’s communications revolution. He is also the Chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited, an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiative. He holds many key technology patents, has been involved in several startups, and lectures extensively around the world on management, governance and the implications of communications and information technology.

He is the founder and CEO of C-SAM, Inc, which has developed a suite of patented mobile transaction technology called OneWallet. He has served as an advisor to the United Nations and in 1992, his biography, 'Sam Pitroda: A Biography' was published, and became a bestseller on The Economic Times list for five weeks. Dr. Pitroda has lived mainly in Chicago, Illinois since 1964.