TiE Boston, one of New England region’s largest and oldest organizations supporting the Massachusetts entrepreneurial ecosystem, today announced the appointment of Alok Prasad, Pramod Kalyanasundaram, Sunita Kanchinadam, and Swarna Balasubramanian as directors to its Board. As charter members, they have led important initiatives and are deeply engaged with TiE Boston, demonstrating their significant commitment to the mission.

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“We are pleased to welcome Alok, Pramod, Sunita, and Swarna to our board. They are proven leaders who are passionate about driving innovation with entrepreneurs and making a difference,” said Yash Shah, TiE Boston President. “Their leadership and capabilities complement our current board and underscore TiE Boston’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship.”

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The new Board Members will work along with the current Board Members, bringing their diverse professional experiences and perspectives to steer TiE Boston’s constituencies through an entrepreneurial environment of disruption, growth, and positive business changes.

TiE Boston is the second oldest and second largest TiE chapter in the world, and currently has more than 200 charter members. Stability & continuity is critical to ongoing success of the organization. The appointment of new members to the Board and the recent election of Purnanand Sarma as the President Elect of the organization ensures continued success for TiE Boston.

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About Alok Prasad

Alok Prasad brings 30+ years of successfully starting, building and investing in technology companies. He started his career at Rohm & Haas and helped start the Plaskon-division far-east operations in Singapore. Since then, he has been an investor-operator who has successfully started and built companies to hundreds of millions in revenue and led or supported companies to exit or IPO. He is Chair of TiE Boston Angels leadership team, and part of the leadership team for TiE Global Angels. Alok received his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

“I am honored to be part of the TiE Boston Board,” said Alok Prasad. “As we get into the new era of breakthrough technologies such as Generative AI and bio-engineering at a global level, TiE is well-positioned to support entrepreneurs achieve their dreams on the

global stage. Facilitating that achievement by being on the Board is a privilege and an honor.”

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About Dr. Pramod Kalyanasundaram

Pramod Kalyanasundaram is a TIE Charter Member and the Chair for the TIE ScaleUp program. He is an entrepreneur, Fortune 50 executive and is currently the SVP of Engineering and Operations at Wasabi Technologies LLC, a New England Unicorn company. He is passionate about technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership. For the past few years, he has served as a mentor, curriculum lead, and the Chair for the TIE ScaleUp program which is the #1 Seed+ to Series A, non-equity startup incubator which is hosting its 10th cohort this year.

“It has been a great experience being part of the TIE Boston Chapter and community over the years, including the TIE ScaleUp Program,” said Kalyanasundaram. “Joining the board gives me the opportunity to work with the TIE Boston board and the leadership team to create a positive impact at the Boston Chapter and Global level.”

About Sunita Kanchinadam

Sunita Kanchinadam is currently a Managing Director in Bank of New York Mellon, responsible for technology organization in delivering technology solutions to businesses in Asset Servicing. She has led multi-year transformation initiatives in large financial companies for over two decades and is passionate about driving impactful business revenue through technology and digitization. She has worked in Barclays, Goldman Sachs, State Street Bank to name a few among the top tier financial institutions. In 2023, Sunita Kanchinadam served as the Chair of TiECON East, and organized three tracks with 58 speakers for the conference.

“I’m excited to bring my tech and industry experience to foster and further the mission of TiE, with a focus on women-owned businesses,” said Kanchinadam. “Of particular interest is the transformation through tech solutions that would be impactful at the industry level and in furthering opportunities for women.”

About Dr. Swarna Balasubramanian

With over a decade of experience in creating, financing, and managing early-stage scientific innovations and startups in the life sciences industry, Dr. Swarna Balasubramanian is currently an Associate Director in Emerging Innovations Unit at AstraZeneca. In this role, she focuses on catalyzing novel science and technology in drug discovery and development, aiming to usher in the next generation of therapeutics for patients. Previously, she played a key role in the leadership team at Acidophil - contributing to company creation and holds a PhD from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Dr Swarna Balasubramanian served as the Co-Chair for the inaugural year of TiE Boston’s University Pitch Competition.

“Having actively participated in various TiE Boston initiatives over the past two years, I am thrilled to take on the role of Board Member,” said Balasubramanian. “In this capacity, I am eager to shape the future of TiE Boston and contribute to the growth, success, and greater diversity of the entrepreneurial community.”

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