SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – February 25, 2000 – Viresh Bhatia, co-founder and CEO of InstallShield Software Corporation, today was inducted into the University of Illinois at Chicago’s 15th Annual Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, Class of 2000. Bhatia is one of only twenty-two Chicago-area professionals selected to this year’s Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by various local businesses and The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at UIC, a top-ranked academic entrepreneur program.
“It is an honor to be recognized by an organization that encapsulates everything we value and strive to maintain at InstallShield – entrepreneurial spirit,” Bhatia said. “In addition to being creative, you’ve got to put your beliefs on the line, overcome obstacles, and be passionate to reach your entrepreneurial dream.”
Since starting InstallShield Software Corporation in 1987, Bhatia has grown the company from a two-person startup to a global organization employing more than 300 of the high tech industry’s top talent. Viresh’s strong vision and entrepreneurial spirit have driven InstallShield to be recognized worldwide as the leader in software deployment technologies.
Bhatia also currently serves as president of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) Midwest Chapter (www.tie-midwest.org), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and fostering entrepreneurship, which Viresh helped launch in 1998. He has received multiple industry awards including KPMG’s “Illinois High Tech Award,” Silicon India Magazine’s “Top 100,” and Ernst & Young’s “Software Entrepreneur of the Year Award” (Illinois/Northwest Indiana region). Most recently, Bhatia was named a national finalist in the Software Information Services Category at Ernst & Young’s 13th annual “Entrepreneur Of The Year®” awards ceremony.
Bhatia is also recognized by top Chicago business publication, Crain’s Chicago Business, as a driving force within Chicago’s technology arena. He has been included in Crain’s prestigious “Forty Under Forty: Executives to Watch” issue, as well as the elite “Who’s Who in Chicago Business” list.
About The Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame is sponsored annually by several of Chicago’s outstanding businesses, each with long-time expertise in aiding entrepreneurial organizations. They include Lord, Bissell & Brook, William Blair & Co., Grant Thornton and LaSalle Bank, N.A. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, ranked among the top academic entrepreneurship programs in the country, is also a sponsor.
Past honorees include Gale Sayers, Sayers Computer Source; Michael J. Birck, Tellabs, Inc.; John Rogers, Jr., Ariel Capital Management and Sue Ling Gin, Flying Food Fare.