Dr. Kailas J. Rao, a native of India, came to the U.S. 30 years ago with $3.50 in his pocket.
Today the millionaire investor exemplifies success coupled with admirable humility. Rao is President and Chairman of Indus, Inc., a telecommunications company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has over 20 years of practical and hands-on experience in the areas of merger/acquisition, franchising, accounting, corporate finance and technology.
Dr. Rao attended Angelo State in the late sixties after arriving on a bus bound from New York. He later received his MBA from Sam Houston State University and his Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Oklahoma in 1974. He was a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Business from 1974 through 1981. He then founded and nurtured Computer Bay, a national franchiser of personal computers, over a period of 11 years and grew the franchise business to over 350 computer centers in 44 states and Canada, with approximately $100 million in sales to franchises and total gross network sales of approximately $500 million. He sold Computer Bay in 1992 and in 1993, with four others, Dr. Rao started GS2, an investment banking firm. The firm currently has approximately 50 employees and manages assets of over $500 million.
Rao founded Indus, Inc. in 1995 and recently launched marketing Indus, Inc.'s personal communications services. The company paid $60 million for the license in a seven county Milwaukee basic trading area. Rao raised 20 million dollars in a private placement of stock and forged relationships with some of the wireless industry's biggest players. The investors include Hughes Network Systems, Inc., Uniden America Corp., Kanematsu Corp., and the engineering firm of G. M. Selby & Associates. Hughes also is providing 60 million dollars in financing for equipment purchases and will manage the system's construction.The business niches for Indus, which plans to create a business service subsidiary under another name, include remote meter reading for utilities, home banking, wireless home and office security systems, wireless automatic teller machines, vending machine management, bar code scanning and inventory control management, data communications and services for theaters and stadiums.
Dr. Rao's success has been recognized by colleagues and professional organizations. In 1993 he was appointed to the Governor's Blue Ribbon Telecommunications Infrastructure Task Force by Wisconsin Governor Thompson. INC Magazine recognized Computer Bay as "The INC 500, America's Fastest Growing Private Companies" in 1992. Rao was a member of the AT&T Advisory Council and board member of the Personal Computer Division. He has served the IBM and NEC Personal Computer Divisions as a Dealer Advisory Board member. Ernst & Young and INC Magazine nominated Rao for "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1989, 1991, and 1992. His company was recognized by Arthur Andersen and Company as "Wisconsin's 100 Largest Private Companies" from 1989-1992 and the Metro-Milwaukee Council of Small Businesses in their "Future 50 of Greater Milwaukee" in 1990 and 1991.
Dr. Rao is married to Becky and with his wife has been involved in many charitable organizations in the Milwaukee area.
As profiled in the 1998 Fall Alumni Magazine.
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