Sundip Arora

In three years, Sundip Arora has risen from volunteer with the Network of South Asian Professionals in Boston to leader of the group’s national parent organization, the Network for Indian Professionals, North America.

Arora, who currently is serving as vice president of external affairs for NetIP [at the time of print in 2009], is set to take over the reins of leadership from President Aruna Paramasivam on Jan. 1.

His ascension through the network’s ranks was an organic journey, Arora said.

“I have always been active in the community,” Arora said, adding that as long as he finds value in his membership he will continue to contribute to NetSAP and NetIP.

“We’ve come a long way,” said the Chestnut Hill, Mass., resident of the 20-year-old national professional network. Still, Arora says there are things that the group might do better, including several areas on which he will focus as president in the year ahead.

“Our first goal is to continue our growth,” Arora said.

NetIP North America has 5,000 paid members, and reaches out to 40,000 professional in the United States and Canada, but Arora said he believes membership can and should be expanded.

There are about 250 to 300 paid NetSAP Boston members.

Increasing external visibility is another of Arora’s top priorities, followed closely by deepening NetIP’s identity, driving its logo to be an instantly recognizable symbol of the South Asian business community.

In order to increase visibility, Arora said he will seek to partner with nonprofits like the Grameen Foundation, which grants microloans to small businesses and empowers some of the world’s poorest people.

Arora already has met with the executive director of the United Nation’s World Food Programme in order to “forge a partnership going forward,” said Arora.

Strong ties with music giant MTV, Sahara TV and Asian Television are among the arsenal of contacts Arora is trying to strengthen.

Arora grabbed NetIP’s top spot when members from each of the group’s 24 chapters met over the Labor Day weekend in Toronto for the 18th annual conference and to elect its incoming slate of leaders.

Co-chairing NetIP’s national annual conference “changed the course of history” for Arora, he said, giving him the confidence to take charge of a sprawling professional organization.

About 850-900 people gather from across the United States and Canada for the national conference each year to listen to high-profile speakers talk about business issues.

“It’s a way for all of us to come together and meet each other,” Arora said.

Networking is an essential part of NetIP’s functioning, and these meetings offer a chance to mix official NetIP business with the kind of relationship-building NeIP is known to provide its members.

As NetIP’s president of external affairs, Arora gained exposure in dealing with the public. The role entails acting as the group’s external-facing representative and creating publicity for the organization.

Arora is carrying over to the president’s post some of his responsibilities from his days working in external affairs, including brand consistency, increasing visibility, securing and maintaining relationships with partners and sponsors, and various strategic marketing initiatives.

In his previous role, Arora helped create a partnership with nonprofit Akshaya Patra, a Stoneham, Mass.-based nonprofit that helps feed Indian school children. He also worked deals with various airlines, the National Basketball Association and online marketplace Ebay.

Arora works as a manager at high-tech startup Metatomix, based in Dedham, Mass., where he leads a small team that supports the company’s sales from a technology standpoint.

Prior to his work with Metatomix, Arora worked as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting LLP, where he “was always trying to convince people to buy an idea or reinforce change to streamline technology or internal processes.”

Arora said he hopes to sell NetIP’s brand name and success to a broader public, gaining brand recognition.

Part of the success NetIP has already enjoyed ties in with prominent former members. Arora points to the nation’s chief technology officer for the Obama administration, former NetSAP President Aneesh Chopra, to highlight the caliber of members NetIP is capable of churning out.

“NetIP’s chapters are as strong as their members and the members are as strong as what they get from NetIP,” said Arora, a native of Delhi, India.

Arora, for his part, is not shy about recognizing his strengths. His ability to juggle a full-time, 50-hour-per-week job while putting in 40 hours per week working with NetIP and being a newlywed is a feat he knows is not ordinary.

Arora married NetSAPs Boston chapter’s outgoing president, Pallavi Chhabra, in mid-November. Her successor has not been named at the writing of this article.

“I tend to do it justice,” Arora said of his involvement with NetIP. “I don’t take up anything I can’t manage.”

As much as he is confident he will ably lead NetIP through 2010, Arora says he is accepting of and anticipating the efforts of many other NetIP members to aid in the experience.

“It comes down to individuals willing to help,” he said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_of_Indian_Professionals