Boli Medappa
Managing Director of Hermes Consulting Group, Inc.
Boli Medappa is the founding member and Managing Director of Hermes Consulting Group, Inc. which advises communications and IT companies on global investment and market entry strategies. She is also the founding partner of India360, which helps companies capitalize on the growing business opportunities between India and the US. The company has offices in Boulder, Colorado, New York and Bangalore, India.
Medappa is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of international experience in the communications, media and information technology markets. She has a proven record in managing start-up operations in both developed and emerging markets with extensive experience in strategy and business development. From developing overall strategic market entry plans, to acquisitions and forming strategic partnerships; from negotiations to securing private equity and debt financing, to insuring proper governance of the new businesses.
Medappa has worked with, and in, India since the early 1990s, where she was instrumental in opening up the Indian market to private investments in infrastructure. As Managing Director US West India, she negotiated the first private investment for integrated broadband services, establishing operations for U S West in India. She also won GSM licenses for 5 key regions. She has advised the Indian government on reform in the regulatory environment; negotiated joint venture agreements with local partners, and contracts with the Indian government. During the last three years she has, through India360, enabled over a dozen companies to evaluate, and/or execute opportunities in India. Including Fortune 200 companies such as Qwest and LSI, and VC backed start-ups implement effective offshoring models in India. The company also advised several high technology firms and small funds on business opportunities, including joint venturing, in India.
Prior to founding India360, Medappa was a Senior Vice President with Callahan Associates International (Cable Partners Europe) and US West International. She was responsible for business development in Europe and Asia at both companies, and instrumental in helping build the European cable TV - triple play portfolio for Cable Partners Europe. At U S West, she led the company’s entry into the wireless and broadband markets in India, and other countries in Europe and Asia. Other relevant professional experience includes marketing management positions with EMC2 (Data General).
Medappa's educational background includes an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Denver, BA (Hons) in Economics from India, and Executive Management programs in negotiations and financial management at Harvard, Northwestern (Kellogg), Wharton and MIT.
She is a founding member of several telecommunications and regulatory advisory groups, including the Telecom Advisory group for the U S - India Business Council; a founding member of the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, for social responsibility, India, and the Governing Body of Pacific Telecom Council, India Chapter. She has been a Board member of both for profit and not-for-profit companies.
Medappa has spoken at several international conferences and symposia on communications, and been a guest lecturer, at the University of Colorado Graduate Program in Telecommunications, Graduate School of International Studies, Denver and Kellogg School of Management.
Personal. Medappa was born in Coorg, South India and grew up in Bangalore. She moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1981. Medappa completed two masters' degrees in the US and stayed on to work in the computer, IT and telecommunications industries. She later relocated to live internationally for 12 years in India, Asia and London working for several U S multinationals. She worked in India, SE Asia, South Korea, South Africa, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK.