c
 




 c





  



 
AdityaJha was born in village situated on border of India and Nepal. He was brought-up in a
landed upper middle class family of three brothers and two sisters. His father was lawyer by
profession and practiced law in district court (Sitamarhi, India). Upon completion of his
secondary education in a village near Nepal India border, Aditya went on to pursue post-
secondary education in Delhi, India. After receiving a bachelors degree in sciences from Hans
Raj College Delhi University, he went on to do M.Sc. Mathematical Statistics at Kurukshetra
University and PG Diploma in Computer Science from Kurukshetra University. He further
invested four and a half years from 1979 to 1984 as a Research Scholar at the School of
Computer and Systems Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University before visiting Paris, France for
Mainframe computer training with CIT Alcatel for six months. He was recipient of University
Grants Commission's Junior and Senior scholarship and Research Associateship from Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research. He was very active in student politics and student union
activities and worked underground with those who were working against when Emergency
measures suspending democratic rights in India were promulgated. He played leadership role
with the largest student organization in India as General Secretary for Delhi and Haryana state
and was on the National Executive of the national student organization when he was just 22
years old. His Mother tongue is Maithili and he belongs to Mithilanchal, India.
     
He started his career in India and then subsequently worked in France, Singapore, Australia and
South East Asian countries. He migrated to Canada in late 1994 and joined Bell Canada, later
becoming a General Manager. After a career at Bell, he co-founded a software company, Isopia
Inc. Isopia was a Canadian success story acquired by Sun Microsystems for over $100 million.
After his work at Isopia, Aditya started OsellusInc, another software firm with offices in Toronto
and Bangkok, and diversified his portfolio through acquisition of several businesses including a
business from Allan Candy/ Cadbury Adams Canada. He renamed the confectionery
manufacturing business, to Karma Candy owing to his belief in the concept of Karma. After this
acquisition, Aditya helped save more than 150 jobs who were to be laid-off owing to the
imminent closure of one of the oldest confectionery factories in Canada.

  !" 
 "  ! #"   

Jha established a private Canadian charitable foundation, the POA Educational Foundation, to
promote education and entrepreneurship. Aditya has several scholarships at Canadian post
secondary institutions such as Ryerson University, Trent University[14], George Brown College
and York University. The endowments at these universities grant in total thirteen (13)
scholarship awards ($40,000 annually) in perpetuity to students (large focus on students from the
aboriginal community of Canada). Additionally he has supposrted a research project on
Economic Value of Indo-Canadians (Ryerson University), Pathways Education Program for the
inner-city kids of Regent Park community in Toronto and funded York University for Canada-
India research initiative.

 #"! 

 !  !   

Jha's Project Beyshick initiative nurtures prosperity and financial independence amongst First
Nations individuals by encouraging and mentoring entrepreneurial efforts. The project was
launched with the support of NishnawbeAski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy and
nephew AshutoshJha. The project has had numerous life changing positive impacts on
participants, putting them on a accelerated path towards success and personal growth.

Asked by a media house about his motivation for this initiative, he replied

"I wanted to give the Canadian aboriginal communities a vision for the future - and a sense of
possibility. It is the entrepreneurial spirit and success, which gives the rightful recognition to
communities in the mainstream world. It also allows the successful entrepreneurs to become role
models for their community,".

He has also supported award for the Top 20 under 20 program (Entrepreneurship category) and
the yearly $15,000 Business Plan & $5,000 Career Plan Contest award for the First Nation
individual participating in Project Beyshick.

  !"$ %c! 

Since Fall of 2008, Aditya has been involved with the One Laptop Per Child project. He has
since then distributed more than 100 laptops to rural village schools in Nepal, including Nuns'
Welfare Foundations Arya Tara School. This project is an addition to the hundreds of computers
and printers he donated to dozens of schools in Kathmandu valley in Nepal In 2001, Aditya
proposed to develop and fund a world class Institute of Information Technology Nepal (IIT-N)
modelled after India's IIT. The institute was to be established within a government sponsored IT
Park in the Greater Kathmandu area (Banepa IT Park). Just before the parliament of Nepal was
set to approve the proposal, the government fell and proposal was delayed, and later withdrawn
by Aditya

  !"$ %& 


Jha chairs the India AIDS Campaign within UNICEF Canada's Unite For Children, Unite
Against Aids campaign. "As part of the larger Canadian Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS
campaign, a special India HIV and AIDS Campaign has been established to support AIDS
prevention, awareness and treatment projects for children and youth in India."[27]. Working with
Canadian organization 'Aim for Seva', Aditya has donated a 50 student residence for kids from
landless families in Bihar,India.

 "    
Jha is active with Canadian, Indian and Nepalese public affairs. From November 16±18, 2009 he
accompanied Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to India as one of the seven members of
his Canadian delegation. He is one of the founding directors of the Canada India Foundation
where he is currently the National Convener. Prior to this he chaired the 'Educational &
Institutional' committee. Most recently, he was instrumental in designing the University of
Waterloo and the Canada India Foundation's (CIF) first-of-its-kind joint initiative for the
advancement of Canada's research capacity in studying the politics, economy and social
conditions of contemporary India and bi-lateral relationship of both countries through a planned
establishment of a $10-million endowment.
Aditya moderated Canada session during PravasiBhartiya Divas event (Delhi, January 2007)
organized by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. He also moderated India Business Roundtable
(Toronto, October 2006), jointly organized by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and
Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada as well as the roundtable entitled Engaging India:
tapping Roots- Seizing Opportunities (Delhi, January 2007) jointly organized with CII, India and
ICCC, Canada.

Aditya facilitated and helped fund a workshop on 'Opportunities and Challenges For Nepali
Political Parties' co-organized by National Democratic Institute (NDI, Washington D.C.) and
Nepal Study Center (NSC) of the University of New Mexico (UNM). The workshop provided a
forum for thoughtful exchanges on the issues of development and democracy between Napalese
policy/political leaders and their U.S. counterparts.

  "  
Jha supports the Canadian Youth Ballet Ensemble to promote dance education and training for
young Canadians, and the "Share the Music" program of Roy Thomson Hall to give Canadian
aboriginal youth access to best musical performances.[34] He also supports Toronto International
Film Festival group as Gold Patron. The Toronto International Film Festival Group is a
charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see
the world. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving
image. Jha also supports the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

$ ' "
  !!

30 most Influential Indo Canadians, Rediff India Abroad magazine's Power List (published
September 2009)

Winner, Top 25 Canadian Immigrants 2010

Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University,
Toronto, Canada

Advisory Council of Dean, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University

Chair, India HIV/AIDS Campaign, UNICEF Canada

Board Member, First Nations Financial Management Board (FNFMB), Government of Canada

Board Member, Ontario Investment & Trade Advisory Council (OITAC), Government of
Ontario
Board Member, PharmEng International Inc.

Board member, Brainhunter Inc. National Convener, Canada India Foundation

Desi News Grant's Community Achievers Awards (2008)

Technology Achievement Award (2004), Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)

CEO award (1998), BCE Inc.

President's Club (1998), Bell Canada