Several years ago, Arif Diwan realized
that—in
the course of using
location technology and wireless telemetry to service wireless and telecom
customers—he
had found a better way to secure
extended remote tracts from terrorism or other disruption.
His ability to see
the
potential
security applications of
these
technologies came after 20 years
translating advanced technology into practical applications for the
academic, corporate and public sector.
To develop these technologies and
bring them
to market, Diwan founded
Willigent Corporation.
Now, as
Willigent's president, he directs
a global
team
dedicated to helping business
and governmental organizations
secure valuable
and vulnerable assets,
affordably, effectively, efficiently.
As chief executive officer of
Wireless Infrastructure Technology
Services Corp. (WITS)—a
company he co-founded with four former
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) colleagues—Diwan
took knowledge gained working with advanced technology, and those who
pioneered its use, to help the global services business double revenues,
sign such key customers as OnStar (General Motors Corporation) and Motorola,
forge partnerships with QUALCOMM
Incorporated (Nasdaq:QCOM) and
Verizon Wireless, and identify business opportunities in Pakistan with
Paktel, Instaphone and other wireless carriers.
Prior to forming WITS, Diwan successfully
managed numerous high-profile, sophisticated
technology projects at
BBN Technologies, a company that built the
ARPANET, a precursor to today's Internet, and
was an internetworking pioneer. During his
11 years at BBN, the company was acquired by GTE
and then Verizon.
At BBN, Diwan became an expert at
designing and managing large systems, and developing new business areas in
leading edge technologies. His successes there included directing a $40
million joint internetworking project with NEC; designing and managing the
New York Stock Exchange Data Network expansion and enhancement project;
and leading and executing build-out of the Content Acceleration and Delivery
Network at PanAmSat Corporation (NYSE:PA).
Diwan also provided security analysis services to the U.S. Department of
Defense while at BBN.
Diwan holds a U.S. patent for information
distribution, and has filed three additional
patents in wireless and content technologies. He
is currently filing several other patents in
wireless location technology, industrial design,
and signal processing and detection.
Prior to BBN, Diwan worked at
Brown University in Providence under the
direction of Dr. Michael Pear—now
a Willigent advisor—where
he developed new computing technology at the
Institute of Research in Information and
Scholarship (IRIS).
Educated in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, he
earned degrees in mathematics and physics from
the University of London, and computer science
from the University of Houston in Texas.
Click
here to download a photo of Arif Diwan
