‘It’s a real tragedy’: Suburban CEO dies during anniversary celebration in India
The founder and CEO of a Hoffman Estates-based international software firm was killed late last week in an accident at an event in India celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary.
Vistex CEO Sanjay Shah, 56, died and company President Raju Datla, 52, was critically injured Thursday in a 15-foot fall from an elevated stage when one of its supports broke, according to news sources in India, including the Times of India.
The company, headquartered at 2300 Barrington Road in Hoffman Estates, has not yet released a statement on the tragedy, according to its representatives.
Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said he considers Shah’s death a deep loss for the entire community, not just the company he founded.
“It’s a real tragedy,” he said. “He was a wonderful man. I knew him and my wife knew him. It’s hard to fathom that a guy this brilliant and this important would be so suddenly taken from us in an inexplicable way.”
Shah was particularly interested in helping Ascension St. Alexius Medical Center with fundraising, McLeod said.
“Health care was important to him because it’s so important to all of us,” he added.
Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Tricia O’Brien said Vistex has been a member of the organization since 2016.
“It’s very sad,” she said. “They’ve been a very supportive member financially and through the loan of their office space.”
A native of Mumbai, India, Shah earned his MBA at Lehigh University’s College of Business in 1989. He would later establish the Vistex Institute for Executive Education at the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania university through a $5 million donation.
Shah is quoted by the college as being inspired by his passion for lifelong learning.
“I think with the rapid adoption of technology, there is an even more urgent need to skill or re-skill the professional workforce,” Shah said of the institute. “The Vistex Institute reaches beyond the traditional approach to executive learning by adding a strong original research component and greater focus on collaboration.”
According to his biography posted on the institute’s website, Shah worked for Price Waterhouse, General Motors and then SAP in Germany before establishing his own company.
Vistex, which creates revenue management software, has grown to 20 locations around the world and has about 1,600 associates, according to its website. Its headquarters building in Hoffman Estates displays flags from across the globe.
Shah was the 2019 recipient of the Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Award.