Kishore Padmanabhan

Kishore, a first generation entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu started his career in 1984 by introducing computer education in schools, for the first time in India. He pioneered the concept of computer aided instruction (CAI) imparting curriculum courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography and other subjects. His major break came in 1999 when the Government of Tamil Nadu decided to take IT education to the rural expanse via government schools. He bagged the contract for implementing IT Education in all the districts of Tamil Nadu.

In another path-breaking effort, he introduced technology based learning in medical education, for the first time in India, in all the medical colleges of Tamil Nadu. In 2002, his company, Everonn, set-up the country’s first ‘virtual classrooms’ in thousands of schools and colleges across India. He entered the virtual space of education and training delivery through the VSAT platform. He created the first Online Live Transmission Studio at Chennai

He was decorated and recognized by Mr. Abdul Kalam (former President of India) for bringing in technology-based innovation in education. His efforts saw the company go for its IPO (Initial Public Offer) in 2007. The issue, with an unprecedented over subscription of more than 145 times, proved the trust and faith of investors in his company.

Everonn became India’s second largest public education group, started with a capital of USD 200 in 1984, it had grown to a market capitalization of over 400 million USD in 2010. With a large base of more than 44,000 shareholders, the company enjoyed a very unique equity to shareholder ratio.

In 2011, he bagged India’s largest skill development project worth over 2.75 billion dollars, to be executed in seven years through Everonn’s subsidiary ‘Everonn Skill Development Limited’, guided and overseen by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) alongside a 27% equity infusion, under approval from the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

By end 2011, he left the company and by then, had built the world’s largest technology based education network and was named on the Forbes ‘Best under a Billion’ Asia List. At that time, Everonn was present all across India employing in excess of 8500 teachers and had imparted education to more than 8.60 million students. The company was reaching out to over 300,000 students on a daily basis.