With a physical presence that includes sales offices from Shanghai to Mexico City, Toronto to London and other major hubs in between, there’s little doubt that Chatsworth Products (CPI) does and means business wherever our customers may be. That includes the perenially emerging ICT infrastructure market in the Middle East, where for 14 years, CPI has been fortunate for local support thanks to an Employee Owner who has been instrumental in providing unending, dedicated service, leadership and support in helping build and grow CPI in this all-important region.
Now, after those 14 hard-earned and celebrated years of service and sales support and guidance, the rest of us here at CPI say goodbye and happy trails to Sundeep Raina, CPI’s longtime Regional Sales Director in the Middle East, who will soon be leaving the company for new adventures ahead.
But before he goes, it’s only fitting that we pay our respects with look back at some of Sundeep’s greatest hits, wins and projects in the Middle East, while also letting you know what CPI’s Middle East customers and partners in the region can expect moving ahead.
Most recently, this included a special evening of celebration for Sundeep and networking among CPI’s newly appointed EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) team, which moving forward after Sundeep’s departure, will include CPI’s incoming Regional Sales Director in the Middle East, Praveen Shenoy (located on the far right in the picture below), along with oversight and guidance from CPI General Manager and Regional Sales Director for EMEA, Julian Riley (located in the middle of the group photo below, wearing a gray sportcoat and standing next to Sundeep, wearing white), who was also in attendance at Sundeep’s March 17 farewell party, seen below.
For CPI, business in the Middle East has been a steady stream of projects won, partnerships forged and plenty of time spent helping EMEA customers power and protect their technology investments. Here are just a few of the highlights of CPI in EMEA.
-
Oman Data Park – thanks to a newer and more robust data center infrastructure from CPI, this Middle East IT service provider was soon able to run more than 30kW per cabinet without overusing provision cooling thanks to CPI solutions. Read the full case study here. And thanks to these initial successes, Sundeep went on to help develop a strong presence with local businesses and customers across Oman, particularly in the banking industry. These include long-lasting connections with leaders at the National Bank OMAN, Central Bank of Oman, and Bank Muscat, just to name a few.
-
Regents Emirates Pearl Hotel - to compete with the top hotels in the hospitality industry, Emirates Pearl Hotel teamed up with Atlas Telecom, a consulting and engineering firm, distributor, MultiNet Communications, and you guessed it, CPI, to design and install a state-of-the-art data center to accommodate the technological needs of such a luxurious space. Read more about the project here.
-
United Arab Emirates (UAE) – With Sundeep’s guiding insight, CPI has consistently landed major data center projects across the UAE. These include partnerships with local hospitals such as Cleveland Clinic and Al Ain Hospital, banking organizations like Dubai Islamic Bank and property developers on projects like the Museum of the Future, Meeras and Meydan that are all still helping grow CPI’s impact in the UAE.
-
Saudi Arabia – As a major step forward in developing an increased presence in Saudi Aribia, Sundeep helped lead a major, 1200-cabinet data center project, which turned out to be one of largest ever commissioned in Saudi Arabia. Its success was followed by projects with Princess Noora University, KAPSARC (The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) , KAFC and PNU (Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University) – all in just this one country.
And just earlier this month, Sundeep was still hard at work as ever, meeting with a longtime partner at their facility in Khobar, Sauid Arabia, seen below, to continue discussing how CPI can help them continue to ensure the ideal, efficient and effective data center infrastructure that only a company like CPI can provide.
Sundeep, second from the left, visits with CPI partners in Saudi Arabia this past March 2023
As change happens for CPI in the Middle East, we know we’re stronger, smarter and more widely known and respected in the region thanks to Sundeep’s collective efforts and guidance over these last 14 years. We truly appreciate his ability to overcome all the challenges he encountered, all while being an ideal role model and mentor for his team and so many others at CPI. We’re going to miss him but also know that we’re all also better because of him.
Cheers, thank you, and all the best from all your friends and colleagues at CPI and beyond, Sundeep! And be sure to check out a full photo album here for even more blasts from the past and across Sundeep's impressive CPI career.