Doing great things and committing to society is the legacy he inherited and is proudly taking forward. His grandfather, Girdhar Gopal Bansal, migrated to Gwalior from Fatehabad, Uttar Pradesh, with nothing on him and yet built his career and committed himself to the city. He was a lawyer and more than that, a philanthropist and a social worker. “The entire city respected him. Our family is known because of him and he is an inspiration for us all,” says Krishna.
His mother, Nisha, is a homemaker who has dedicated her life to the family. “She is very kind-hearted and pious and extremely loved.” His father, Rama Kant, owned many businesses including one in construction. “He, more than business skills, taught me to be nice and kind. My parents’ morals and service-mindedness are what I have learnt from them.” They lived as one large joint family that faced every challenge together learning the value of money well.
Krishna finished his schooling at Carmel Convent School and did his graduation in Business and Finance and MBA from Jiwaji University. While still in graduation, he tried his hand at small businesses. “It helped me learn a lot.” And later, he joined his father’s business and helped them get into the road construction business. During his MBA, he worked for bigger companies to gain corporate experience. “I went to Pune where I worked in finance – my first job,” he remembers.
That BIG Moment!
Krishna had just moved to Delhi when an opportunity to visit the US arose. “I came here on a job in 1998, worked here for around three years, got my green card and started my own business.”
Q1 Technologies was established in 2002. He also started other businesses and had other work interests as well but focused on Q1 to expand globally. Joined in by his brother, Rajneesh, Q1 provides employment to around a thousand people.
“With the world evolving, I also deviated toward technology. And that’s where I got into helping companies to implement technologies that suited them and imparting training on the best usage of their choice of technologies.” And within a few years, he was regarded the technology architect in the country. He has worked with many Fortune 500 companies in the last 20 years.
Q1 ranked as the fastest-growing business in the US for 2015, 2016 2017 and 2022 by Inc magazine. It was top-ranked in Fast 100 by the US Pan-Asian American Chamber of Commerce for 2016 and 2017. It was listed as one of the 30 Fastest Growing Technology Companies in 2016 by Silicon Review. Krishna was honored and awarded by The Technology Headlines as the 50 Successful Indian Entrepreneurs in the US in 2017.
The Vital Question
Krishna’s passion to work for the community and giving back has seen him working for education, business and civic organizations. He has run for offices including Illinois State Assembly and US Congress. He has also been serving on boards of several large non-profit foundations helping children and causes. But what he really calls his top accomplishment is what happened as a gift from above!
He has been on the Board of Directors and Chair of the Technology Council for the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed to lead the US-Asian American Chamber of Commerce for the Midwest State and has been instrumental in organizing many business summits and programs helping connect businesses with large corporations and government.
“We were in Denver but in 2004, we moved to Naperville for business reasons as it is the center of all work. And everything changed thereon!”
It was 2012...
“We were celebrating Diwali with friends. Someone noted that we all needed to pay more attention to our children, that we need to get involved a little bit more in the system so that they are not discriminated against. Here in the US, schools are run by public boards. One of my friends volunteered to run for a school board position and I offered my help. But at the last moment, he couldn’t and instead I ended up running for that position.” Krishna, however, was extremely shy, an introvert and never a public speaker. He resisted but finally got into it and that transformed him into a public figure. He got the chance to learn a lot about the US government’s functioning and the way an immigrant could become an integral part of the country.
“I met a lady who posed a serious question – why doesn’t the Indian community in Naperville do something to take this place even further? It is a hub for Indians and in the past many years, people have worked really hard to make it the best.” It changed Krishna’s life and he decided to devote more time to public life. “I believed all of us had to do something for this city as a community. I met the mayors and elected officials. I started working with them in many capacities. We embarked on an outreach program. Naperville appointed me as the representative for the Indian community and gave me the position of the Chairman of Indian Community Outreach (ICO). Our goal at that point was to involve the Indian community more. And that is my biggest achievement, I will say.” He was instrumental in the formation of first Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board (IACOAB) in Aurora – also the first in the US. He was appointed as the Founding Chairman. He was also appointed to the Naperville Planning Commissioner from 2015 to 2021.
In 2014, he was asked to run for state representative election and though he lost narrowly, he has been serving with as much enthusiasm as before. In 2015, the India Day Parade and celebration were started—now the largest and the most recognized Indian festival in the US. ICO, still led by him, has been instrumental in many educational and community activities too. Krishna and ICO have also won prestigious awards from Governor of Illinois for leadership and community work.
He has been instrumental in building awareness and fight for issues for the community. He was instrumental in founding political organizations including Indian American Republican Organization (IARO) and Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC). He has led movements to help fellow Indo-Americans with green card and visa issues, while lobbying at White House and Capitol Hill.
A Republican member, Krishna, along with a few select leaders, celebrated Diwali at the White House with the President of the US, Donald Trump, in 2017. “A historical moment, as it was for the first time Diwali was celebrated in Oval Office.”
Love Happens
On a winter afternoon, Krishna was on the terrace studying for his college exam. Across his house, he saw an incredibly beautiful girl reading a book. “Our eyes met and I believe that was the love-at-first-sight moment. She took my breath away. I was not able to forget her after that.” In those days, coming from Indian conservative families, getting to know each other was a challenge but they managed to through a common friend. After three years of courtship, they got married in 1994. “It seems like yesterday! The memory of that first look is as fresh to me as if it just happened yesterday. I am blessed to have her in my life. Meghna gave me two beautiful daughters, Eesha and Deeya, and a world of love and happiness.”
Meghna and Krishna ensure that Indian culture is preserved well. Eesha is studying Business Management at Bloomington Kelley School of Business, Indiana University; Deeya is studying Computer Science Engineering at Urbana Champaign, University of Illinois. “They understand our culture very well and they take care of everything. They are always home for festivals or whenever we need them to,” says the proud father. He is a certified pilot too. “I’ve flown over 3000 hours in my plane. I like adventures and traveling, especially to places where there’s no internet.”
Passionate, well-awarded and recognized, on many leading boards and organizations, Krishna, like his grandfather, has found a niche in serving both, India and the US.