Kumar Malavalli

Entrepreneur/Civic Leader

California State University, East Bay

Kumar Malavalli is an internationally recognized engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader who has made significant and sustained contributions to his profession and enhanced the quality of life for others throughout the world. Mr. Malavalli is one of the principal originators and architects of the evolutionary technology Fibre Channel. Fibre Channel technology provided the basis for the development of the multi-billion dollar industry of storage area networks (SANs), which has transformed the digital world.

Mr. Malavalli grew up in Mysore, India, and earned baccalaureate degrees in physics and electrical engineering from the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. He received a master's degree in industrial electronics from the National Institute of Engineering in Dusseldorf, Germany. After moving to Canada in 1974, he worked at Canstar Communications Ltd. and Hewlett Packard. A defining point in his career came when he moved to San Jose, California, and founded Brocade Communications Systems, today the world leader in storage area switching.

Mr. Malavalli has been a principal in a number of technology start-ups including: InMage Systems, Kawa Objects, and Glassbeam, Inc. He is currently serving as Chairman of the Board and CEO of InMage Systems and is founder and Chairman of the Board of Glassbeam, Inc.

Mr. Malavalli served as the Chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) T11 Technical Committee and was awarded the prestigious International Committee for Information Technology (INCITS) award for his leadership in the development of the SAN industry standards. In 2003, the Silicon Valley Engineering Council (SVEC) recognized his contributions to technology and society by inducting him into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame.

In the field of education, Mr. Malavalli gives generously of his time and resources to many civic and international institutions. Since 2001, he has been a founding board member for the American India Foundation and is a trustee of the Indus International Schools in Bangalore. Locally, he was a major contributor to the Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center and currently serves as a board member to Cal State East Bay's Educational Foundation. At UC Santa Cruz, he established the Kumar Malavalli Endowed Chair in Storage Systems Research.

In recognition of his support for education, and his extraordinary professional achievements and outstanding civic leadership, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, East Bay are proud to confer upon Kumar Malavalli the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.