Kaleem Shah

Kaleem Shah (born July 6, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, computer engineer and owner of Thoroughbred race horses. He is known for founding the IT and telecommunications consulting firm CALNET. Born in India, educated in India and the United States, he became a U.S. citizen in the early 1990s. He is the son of Indian horse trainer Majeed Shah.

Background

Shah was born in Bellary, in southern India. His father, Majeed Shah, was a well-known thoroughbred horse trainer in the country who trained two Indian Triple Crown winners.

After earning his bachelor's degree in 1985, Shah came to the United States to pursue his master's degree. Going on to earn an MBA, he thereafter settled in the United States, working as a software programmer for Telenet. He became a US citizen in the early 1990s, giving up his Indian citizenship. Shah is known for his patriotism, and has stated that he is committed to the defense of America. The company is headquartered in Reston, Virginia with a branch office in San Diego, California. Today the company "provides intelligence analysis, language, and information technology (IT) consulting services to government, telecom, financial, public sector, high-tech, and services organizations" in the United States and internationally. The company provides services to both private businesses and the United States military. Shah has chosen not to take the company public because he prefers it to “remain agile." In 2007 CALNET obtained a $66 million contract with the Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) to provide linguist services at Guantanamo Bay and another $104 million to train Defense and military personnel.

On September 13, 2017, Calnet, and its chief executive officer, Kaleem Shah, agreed to pay $300,000 to the U.S. Government. The settlement resolves a qui tam complaint filed against Calnet and Shah that allege that Calnet misrepresented its past private sector experience in providing help desk services in its proposal to win a 2009 FAA contract for IT help desk services.

Horse racing

Shah is an avid Thoroughbred horse owner and breeder. In 2015 he won the Santa Anita Derby with Dortmund, who also placed third in the 2015 Kentucky Derby.