HOW ONE IMMIGRANT FOUND BOTH A HOME AND A CALLING T
el Ganesan wears many hats. He is an entrepreneur and owner of Kyyba Inc., an international consulting conglomerate founded in Michigan more than 20 years ago. He is civically engaged, serving as a board member of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, an organization that facilitates business relationships among Asian and U.S.based companies. He is an advocate for education who has created, through his Kyyba Kidz Foundation, a vehicle for improving the lives and educational outcomes for underprivileged kids, assuring they ‘rise to great heights’. He is a community builder, who promotes entrepreneurship and created Pitch Club Michigan to fund startups. The Indian-born Ganesan grew up in the U.S and attended both Wayne State and the University of Michigan. A mechanical engineer by education and training, he resisted the solicitations from Silicon Valley to build a life and career in the state. “This is the place that made me who I am, and it is ingrained in me to give back to this community. I’m just loyal he laughs.” Ganesan is one of 4.6 million Asian Indians living in the U.S. according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 22.9 people of Asian descent live in the country and trace their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, each with unique histories, cultures and languages, far from monolithic. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI) and it is appropriate to take this month to revisit the history and contributions by Asian Americans to this country. In fact, Ganesan believes that the rash of violence against Asians associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, in this country is derived from a lack of knowledge.
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