Secretary of Department of General Services
Atif Chaudhry brings two decades of experience in state service to the position, previously serving at the Maryland Department of Health, most notably as the Deputy Secretary of Operations since August 2020. As a proven manager, he oversaw many facets of the Health Department such as, the MDH Healthcare System, the Office of Facilities Management and Development, the Office of Preparedness and Response, the Secured Transport and Investigation Unit, and the Office of Contract Management and Procurement. Prior to this role, Chaudhry served as the Director of the Office of Facilities Management and Development, and Director of the Office of Capital Planning, Budgeting, and Engineering Services where he oversaw the planning, maintenance, repair, design, renovation, and construction of all the healthcare facilities and administrative locations for the Maryland Department of Health. Chaudhry also played a pivotal role throughout Maryland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chaudhry, a resident of Ellicott City, holds two degrees from the University of Baltimore, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration. He also holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law and is an active member of the Maryland Bar.
SteeleHarbour Capital Partners
Deepak Hathiramani is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of SteeleHarbour Capital Partners, a alpha seeking real estate investment firm focused primarily on middle-market GP equity, preferred equity and debt investments with a primary focus on value-add and ground-up multifamily and mixed- use properties in high growth markets in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic United States which demonstrate strong long-term demographic and migration trends.
Prior to SteeleHarbour, Mr. Hathiramani was the founder of Vistronix Intelligence and Technology Solutions, a national security solutions provider until its recent acquisition by Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Federal Holding Company in August 2016. In the past, Mr. Hathiramani served as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and president of Vistronix and was a member of the Audit and Compensation Committee.
Mr. Hathiramani has more than 25 years of experience with privately funded and venture-funded high- tech start-ups. Prior to Vistronix, he worked with high-tech start-ups including Nx Networks (Netrix Corporation) through its Initial Public Offering and Cinnabar Software until its acquisition by publically traded KMW Systems.
Mr. Hathiramani received a B.A. (Cum Laude) in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. (Honors) in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Bombay, India. He possesses a Diploma in Business Management and Industrial Administration and has completed several Business Executive Programs from the Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College. Mr. Hathiramani most recently completed a Certificate Program in Walkable Urban Real Estate Development at the George Washington University.
Mr. Hathiramani serves on the Advisory Board of Blue Delta Capital Partners, Aanika Bioscience, Mike Shane Memorial Fund, and several government contractors. He is a member of George Mason University Foundation’s Board of Trustees, George Mason University President’s Innovation Advisory Council, and George Mason University’s Volgenau College of Engineering and Computing Advisory Board. He also serves on The University of Texas at Austin Department of Computer Science Advisory Council, and the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Senior Advisory Board. In the past, Mr. Hathiramani served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Professional Services Council (PSC).
Dingman-Lamone Center
Michael Hoffmeyer is the Managing Director of Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship at Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.
Before joining Dingman, Hoffmeyer founded the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship at his alma mater, the University of Memphis, where he spent a decade championing entrepreneurship and delivering social and financial impact to ensure the center's long-term sustainability. He is a passionate thought leader in inclusive entrepreneurship and still enjoys personally helping diverse entrepreneurs develop confidence, self-efficacy, and competencies while also providing experienced insights into innovation, strategy, and leadership to help strengthen their business models.
Hoffmeyer has served as a lead judge in the Memphis Business Journal's Small Business Awards for eight years, helped raise over $52M in venture capital for Memphis students, and was a recognized thought leader in the Memphis entrepreneurial ecosystem. He founded the ImagineU Summer Accelerator Program at Memphis, raising money to pay students a stipend to participate in the program, providing a level playing field for students regardless of socioeconomic status. Hoffmeyer was known for championing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the entrepreneurship space and was frequently sought out to partner on DE&I initiatives across the campus and ecosystem. Prior to his higher education experience, Hoffmeyer served as executive or co-founder in five startups, two of which he successfully exited.
Hoffmeyer holds a Bachelor of Professional Studies, a Master's of Public Administration, and a graduate certificate in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Memphis. He lives in College Park, enjoys spending time with family, watching lacrosse and soccer, and plays the occasional video game.
Maryland DGS
Chantal Kai-Lewis is the Director of Supplier Diversity for the Maryland Department of General Services (DGS), Office of State Procurement. She leads statewide efforts to expand contracting opportunities for small, minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses while advancing equitable and inclusive procurement practices across Maryland government.
Prior to DGS, Chantal served as Director of the Office of Small and Minority Business Policy at the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), where she managed Maryland’s Statewide Disparity Study. She also spent nearly seven years with the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business Affairs, helping develop policies and best practices to strengthen supplier diversity and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) program implementation.
Chantal holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law.
Building Momentum
Dan Lagana has been serving as the CEO of Building Momentum since 2025.
Previously, he worked in management and strategy consulting where he focused on defense and space. His expertise includes autonomous systems, foreign military sales, defense acquisitions, strategic planning, and corporate restructuring. He served six years with the US Army and is a combat veteran.
Dan has experience in local and state government, where he focused on workforce development, land-use, and economic development. He served on the Fairfax County Planning Commission, providing workforce training at local non-profits, and leading community development efforts in southeast Fairfax County.
MERP Systems
Sudhee Maddur is Vice President at MERP Systems with over 28 years of experience spanning federal IT delivery, business development, and program leadership. He has led successful capture, proposal, and delivery efforts for major FEDCIV agencies including EPA, SBA, DOT, DOI, MCC, DOC, and DOE, as well as large IDIQ vehicles such as OASIS+ and FAA eFAST. At MERP, Sudhee is responsible for Business Development and Program Portfolio Management, driving growth while ensuring disciplined execution across engagements. His notable achievements include leading a successful $12M EPA DDMS recompete and delivering the State of California's CalPEST program, a $17M modernization replacing 20 legacy systems. Sudhee is widely respected as a servant leader with a strong customer-first mindset and unwavering commitment to quality.
Founder, Global Alliant Inc
Dr. Rajan Natarajan, a tech-entrepreneur and public servant, is the Founder & CEO of Global Alliant. Before starting Global Alliant, he served as the Deputy Secretary of State in Maryland. His public service was mainly focused on building public/private sector trading partnerships, engage technology industry to enhance intergovernmental functions, operations, and citizen-centric services, overseeing diplomatic relationship, executing international trade missions, and coordinating legislative/executive activities. He has more than 30 years of combined experience in Information Technology, healthcare IT, bioinformatics, clinical applications, emerging technologies, software applications, improving business process automation, digital transformation and achieving enterprise operational efficiencies. As a quality driven executive, he ensures every customer’s mission critical requirement is met along with the added benefits of performance efficiency, reliability, and accuracy. Due to his depth of industry experience in life sciences R&D, business applications, and healthcare IT, his company has been able to successfully deliver several enterprise-wide healthcare projects and technology applications to state and federal agencies. “Deliver IT Right” is not just his motto but his passion.
C2 Technologies
Dolly Oberoi is the owner and CEO of C2 Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of AI-powered solutions and products, including Adapt2Learn, Adapt2Bid, and Career Pathing tools. The company specializes in education and online learning, immersive technologies, aircrew training, simulation and modeling, and digital transformation solutions for the public and private sectors as well as higher education institutions. With more than three decades of experience, Oberoi has been a pioneer in developing immersive technology solutions—such as AR, VR, XR, 5G, Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) environments, the metaverse, and digital twins—to enhance human performance and create transformative learning experiences.
Under her leadership, C2 Technologies has grown from a small startup into an internationally recognized company with more than 500 employees across 37 locations worldwide. The firm serves over 120 clients and has completed more than 20,000 projects. Oberoi has received numerous awards and honors, including the GovCon Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the NDIA Small Business Award, the Women in Defense award, the Virginia Business Award, the Minority Business Leader’s Award, and recognition as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. Beyond her entrepreneurial work, she is deeply committed to mentoring, investing, and speaking on topics related to education, technology, and leadership. She serves on several academic and corporate boards, including the George Mason University Board of Visitors, the Barnard College Athena Center for Leadership Studies, and the TiE Global board.
MERP Systems
Soumya Padmanabhan is Vice President of Technical Delivery at MERP Systems, where she leads enterprise technology modernization initiatives for U.S. government agencies. Based in the Washington, D.C. region, she directs technology strategy, modernization roadmaps, and cross-agency digital transformation programs focused on secure and scalable outcomes. Prior to joining MERP, Soumya held senior engineering leadership roles at GEICO overseeing enterprise platforms across payments, billing, financial controls, and AI/ML capabilities. With over 15 years of experience in highly regulated environments, she specializes in guiding organizations through large-scale modernization, implementing intelligent data-driven solutions, and managing change driven by evolving regulations and technologies.
Advisor and board member
Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy is a transformational leader renowned for his significant contributions to industry, education, and research. As a pioneer in Quantum Mechanics, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Digital Transformation, Dr. Priyadarshy has reshaped these fields.
Notably, he was the first Chief Data Scientist in the Oil and Gas/Energy Industry. He previously served as Technology Fellow and Chief Data Scientist at Halliburton and has held senior roles at Acxiom Corporation, Network Solutions, AOL, and others.
Dr. Priyadarshy is the CoE-OGE Visiting Chair Professor at the Center of Oil, Gas, and Energy at IIT Bombay, India. He is also an adjunct/visiting professor at several universities & institutes in the USA, India, and other countries. He is an advisor, investor, and board advisor for several emerging technology companies in the United States, India, and Switzerland.
His work has been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including Chemical & Engineering News, The Scientist, Silicon India, Oil Review Middle East, Petroleum Review, World, Journal of Petroleum Technology, RigZone, & Forbes. His contributions have also been highlighted in several books by O’Reilly. He has received numerous industry accolades & has appeared in media outlets such as Forbes, CNBC, DEW Journal, and CXO Talk. He has delivered over 150 keynote talks globally & is the author of over 56 papers and ten patents. He was named the 2021-2022 Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Lecturer.
Founder, AutoNebula
Sanjay is a seasoned entrepreneur with a track record of founding multiple companies and achieving successful exits. He is the Founder & Chairman of AutoNebula, an investment firm specializing in connected transport startups that foster collaboration between the United States and India, the Co-Founder of ACEL360, a prominent accelerator dedicated to enhancing the growth and enterprise value of small and mid-sized Federal contractors.
Beyond his business ventures, Sanjay is a popular host, leading conversations on two popular podcasts. In the "Indianness Podcast," he delves into insightful discussions with high-performing Indians and Indian Americans. In "Regulating AI," Sanjay tackles complex questions surrounding the regulation of artificial intelligence, engaging with world leaders to explore strategies that balance innovation and regulatory oversight effectively.
Sanjay is also the founder of USINPAC, an influential organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Indian American community.
Secretary of Higher Education, Maryland
Dr. Sanjay Rai is a higher education champion with more than 30 years of experience in faculty and leadership positions at a community college, liberal arts university, and state supported institution. He is recognized for his work globally as a faculty member, scholar, and leader.
His work has resulted in greater access, student success, and closing achievement gaps. He led the development of partnerships with K-12 along with business and industry, resulting in the creation of early college and new academic and training programs serving Cyber, Biotech, Information Technology, and Data Sciences. His work in this field also resulted in securing $25 million dollars in competitive grants to address the high-tech needs in the region and the state.
He has numerous publications including scholarly articles and his most recent book, “Basic Insights in Vector Calculus” published in 2020. He has been honored with numerous awards throughout his career, including Chief Academic Officer of the Year, Leadership Montgomery Outstanding Leader Award, and Excellence in Teaching Award.
Dr. Rai’s education includes degrees from India, Canada, and the United States, earning a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
President, Ampcus
Salil has a successful track record of driving revenue growth for organizations including experience in mergers and acquisitions and business development. In this role, he is charged with leading Ampcus as it grows to meet expanding market needs and maintaining its leadership position in the Federal, State, Local, and commercial markets. He is responsible for establishing the strategic direction and future vision of Ampcus, and ensuring the portfolio of IT services offered is kept in sync with customer demands.
He brings along with him a vast experience of over 20 years in sales, financial and operational management.
Before joining Ampcus, Salil held executive and senior management positions at other small to large organizations. He holds an MBA in Finance and a Master’s in Management. He is an alumnus of the Delhi University in India. He also holds an Advanced Post Graduate in systems and management.
GroMore Portfolio Management
Sandesh Sharda is an investor and serial entrepreneur based in the Washington, D.C., area. He successfully exited his U.S. federal government IT business, Miracle Systems, in March 2023, after founding and leading it for 19 years. Under his leadership, Miracle won more than $2.6 billion in federal government contracts.
He has backed and scaled ventures across technology, real estate, and lifestyle sectors — from software firms to golf courses.
Sharda holds an MBA from London and is a graduate of Mumbai University. He is also a judge on the popular Zee TV startup show Ideabaaz.
22nd Century Technologies
Anil Sharma, the CEO of 22nd Century Technologies, is an entrepreneur, visionary, investor, advisor and strategist with a great track record of building innovative companies. 22nd Century Technologies provides innovative and optimal IT solutions to federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as Fortune 500 companies. He is passionate about mentoring, consulting, and investing in businesses that have the potential to succeed in the public sector domain. He has also authored two books on IT, sharing his insights and expertise with the industry.
VU Capital
Rohit is a business strategist with a keen interest in geopolitics. Rohit’s professional work spans two decades of emerging technology development and innovation in telecom, the broader internet infrastructure space and a range of emerging enterprise technologies that span the functional gamut. He has advised emerging growth company leaders to achieve their strategic milestones. Rohit has also collaborated extensively with policymakers and civil society leaders across various policy areas. He enjoys exploring the nexus of business and policy through the prism of societal value and the leadership that nurtures it. Rohit derives his greatest professional fulfilment by working with thoughtful leaders on ideas with transformative power. Rohit is also an experienced public speaker, moderator and curator.
Rohit has an MBA and degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland. He has also taught globalization as an adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.
We invite startups to register and pitch before investors in the GovCon space. Both early-stage and growth-stage startups are welcome, with dedicated pitching sessions for each category.
Get ready to hear from investors, successful startup founders, industry leaders, and innovation experts who have built and scaled groundbreaking ventures.
The event offers a vibrant platform where startup founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and early-stage innovators can engage with industry leaders who have forged remarkable success in the entrepreneurial landscape. Join us to gain invaluable insights, network with seasoned professionals, and ignite your entrepreneurial journey.
Are you an entrepreneur with an innovative startup? Here’s your chance to showcase your venture at the Startup Showcase! If you want your startup to be featured, reach out to us with your details. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain visibility, connect with investors, and engage with industry leaders. Our email ID is events@americanbazaaronline.com
Name: Anil Prayag
Phone: 301-343-7610
Email: anil@americanbazaaronline.com