Kumar Bhavanasi
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Kumar Bhavanasi has a passion for driving efficiency and developing synergies among employees, clients, and vendors. He continually strives to understand what will make his clients and people successful, then collaboratively develops the long-term strategic vision and an efficient tactical plan and motivates his team to get results. He is the driving force behind First Tek’s success since its founding and guardian of the company’s loyalty and dedication to its clients and employees.
A veteran of the IT services arena, Kumar specializes in strategic planning, executive client relationships, driving revenue, and extending the overall business model through strategic partnerships. Kumar’s accomplishments include building enterprise systems for Fleet Bank, ADP Brokerage and Morgan Stanley and established strategic alliances with many of First Tek’s clients.
Kumar Bhavanasi earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) in Pilani, India. He also earned a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering at University of South Florida, Tampa, Entrepreneur Certification at Wharton School of Business, Philadelphia. He currently serves on several boards on advisory roles.
Ashok Shetty
Director of Business Development
Ashok Shetty brings nearly a decade of sales, management and business development experience to the company. Ashok Shetty has extensive experience in managing the sales and operations of IT Staffing, and with the help of a dedicated team, he has been part of First Tek’s growth and maintaining First Tek’s IT staffing business.
Ashok Shetty holds a PhD in Chemistry from Mumbai University also holds an MBA in Operations, with a minor in Sales and Marketing from Univerisity of Cincinnati.
Heather Rega
Director of Business Development
Heather brings over fifteen years of experience in the Professional Services and IT staffing industry to the company with a proven track record of successes in her field. Heather’s expertise is in key account management, business relationship management and development of strategic partnerships within but not limited to pharmaceutical, life sciences and bio-tech sector.
Heather holds a BA in Political Science from Rutgers University.
Angela Lee
Director of Recruitment
Permanent Placement Division
Angela’s primary focus is the Permanent Placement Division at First Tek, starting that business segment in 2011. With over 10 years of IT industry experience as a consultant, trainer and then business manager, Angela added executive recruitment to her resume skill-set starting in 2007. Her previous exposure of working in the IT industry proved to be a value added to her clients allowing her to have a more in depth understanding of their business needs. She works hard to develop exceptional client relationships going beyond just finding a good technical match but looking for the culture fit that will make the long term difference. Angela has worked with all size companies, understanding that each hire has a great impact regardless of the organizations size. She leads a team of tenured recruiters that know their industries and look forward to helping you fill all your critical staffing needs.
John Gilroy
Director of Staffing
The First Tek staffing practice is governed by an Executive Committee co-chaired by John Gilroy, a twenty year staffing veteran. John holds a Bachelor’s degree from Villanova University as well as a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management. John plays an integral role in client relationships as well as providing HR and marketing oversight. He came to First Tek after many years with a Wall Street IT firm where he also served on multiple charitable non-profit boards.
Dominick Puma
Director of Recruitment
Dominick Puma has over 26 years of experience in I.T Technical Recruitment, Sales and Administration. He started as a Junior Recruiter in 1985, his years of experience has led him to rank of Recruitment Director. Mr. Puma’s career has centered on supporting major Wall Street Banking & Brokerage Firms as well as Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Government, State & City Agencies. His responsibilities include developing and implementing new Recruiting Processes & Policies as well maintaining Client Relationships.
Dominick coaches and mentors his recruiting team in various areas, including sourcing, research, candidate management, client engagement and database management. He works collaboratively across the organization to build talent acquisition strategies and creative sourcing plans so his team will deliver the top technical professionals to clients. His professional standards, self-discipline and flexibility ensure customer success. Dominick holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from The College of Staten Island, Emerson Hill Campus.
Doreen Villaverde
Director of Human Resources
Doreen provides strategic leadership for all HR functions at First Tek Inc. Her expertise includes employee relations management, immigration compliance, policies and organizational development. She has experience and management responsibility for all aspects of HR including Internal and International Communications, Employee Relations and Strategic HR Planning.
Doreen brings more than 12 years of experience working in the IT environment and has the proven ability to adapt to new concepts and measures. Before joining First Tek, Inc., Doreen held HR leadership roles with increasing responsibility. She is a boundlessly enthusiastic, focused, and committed individual.
Lavanya Kotha
Chief Financial Officer
Lavanya brings strong analytical and financial management experience to First Tek, Inc. She has a Bachelors of Engineering in Computer Science. She is responsible for formulating initiatives and strategies to improve the financial performance of the firm. She also oversees budgets, compliance with GAAP and financial reporting.
Chithra Suresh
Finance Controller
Chithra Suresh brings nearly a decade of accounting experience to First Tek, Inc. She leads the accounting team and is responsible for day-to-day accounting operations.
She has a multidisciplinary educational background in Mathematics/Accounting from India. Chithra began her career as an officer in Life insurance Corporation of India, progressing from an officer to an Accounting Manager in Tata Consultancy Services in a short time.
She has comprehensive knowledge of federal and state laws and is able to demonstrate excellent customer service and management skills together with a “can do” attitude and a great passion for payroll.
