Indira Saladi

2019 Distinguished Alumni Award

For innovative leadership in intellectual property law and business.

Indira Saladi received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), her master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and her JD from the University of Chicago, where she was a law student of former president Barack Obama.

She is the president of Orchard, Inc. (a healthcare staffing company), a limited partner of Belle Capital LLP (an early stage technology investment fund), an advisor to Vital Vio, Inc. (a NY based biotech company), and manages many philanthropic, political, and real estate investments and contributions.  Previously, she was a C-suite executive, specifically Managing Director at Accenture LLP, and Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Zebra Technologies Corp, after starting her professional career as an engineer at Motorola, Inc.

Among her many honors and achievements are being named the 2019 Distinguished Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni from her alma mater UIUC, the 2017 UIUC engineering convocation LAUNCH speaker, a 2016 top 50 under 50 executive by Diversity MBA, and being on TV (ABC, CBS, NBC, WGN and Fox) for her work with the 2017 Women’s March on Washington.  Of note, Indira pioneered offshoring of legal work to India in the early 2000s, and has been recognized for this effort by Motorola (subsequently acquired by Google).

Throughout her career, Indira has sponsored, mentored and coached engineers, women, and the next generation.  She is most proud of her three children, Shyam (UIUC ECE BS 2014, Caltech Phd 2020 Expected), Nikita (Northwestern Medical Student), and Shylee Saladi (Lake Forest Academy High School Sophomore), and her husband, N. Ram Saladi (Physician Entrepreneur), and is most grateful for her parents, Satyanarayana (electrical engineer) and Seetha Gunda for introducing her to electrical and computer engineering, instilling in her a love of technology, and providing her with the foundation for success.

Current as of 2019.