Aarish Gokaldas
CEO, Highlight Technologies
Aarish Gokaldas’ recent biggest achievement correlates to Highlight earning its third consecutive “Great Place to Work” seal from Fortune.
“This one was especially meaningful for me: having joined as the CEO 10 months ago, I was elated to see our best survey results since Highlight first participated in the GPTW surveys. Our employee owners gave Highlight an overall rating of 95/100,” Gokaldas said.
Why Watch
In 2024, Gokaldas and his team are focused on elevating Highlight Technologies’ role as a lead data integrator and DevSecOps provider in the Army, Air Force and Homeland Security sectors. “Highlight leads with accountability,” Gokaldas said. “We practice this by placing ownership of our organization in the hands of our employees, and ensure they understand that by helping our clients succeed, Highlight and its shareholders will continue to succeed.”
Fun Fact: During Gokaldas’ senior year of college, he received and accepted an offer to join the Defense Intelligence Agency as a junior intelligence officer. The afternoon of his graduation in 2002, DIA notified him that a hiring freeze had placed his job on an indefinite hold.
As the freeze continued through the summer, he relocated to Beijing and picked up jobs teaching English to college students and young professionals. Gokaldas ended up returning home earlier than planned, due to the SARS pandemic. The day he landed in New York, he received a phone call from DIA that his billet was no longer frozen, and set a start date two weeks later.