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Ram served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Startec Global Communications an international telecommunications carrier focused on providing Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services into the emerging economies. Startec was among the first carriers to have a direct operating agreement with India for the provision of telecom services. Mr. Mukunda pioneered marketing international telecommunication services to ethnic populations defining the International Long Distance sector. The company eventually targeted a variety of ethnic groups including the Indian diaspora. Under his leadership Startec became the fourth largest VOIP carrier into the emerging economies with a network into over 50 countries; and operating companies in the United States Canada Germany France Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. He has completed over 15 acquisitions and investments in Asia North America and Europe. Mr. Mukunda took the company public on NASDAQ in 1997 and successfully restructured the company in 2004. Prior to founding Startec he was a Strategic Planning Advisor at INTELSAT and prior to that he worked on Wall Street for a bond boutique bond trading firm.
Ram serves on several boards including the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland School of Engineering. He served as a Council Member at the Belfer Center of Science and International Affairs at the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is the recipient of several awards including the University of Maryland's Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award (2001); the Ernst & Young LLP's Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1998); the American Advertising Federation's Citation of Excellence in the prestigious ADDY Award (2000); he has appeared on CNN and CNNfn; featured in Fortune Magazine the Wall Street Journal the Washington Post and other publications. He holds B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics and a M.S. in Engineering from the University of Maryland. | 