Ajay Handa

Ajay Handa is the founder and chief executive officer of Columbus Technologies and Services, Inc. (Columbus). He is a native of New Delhi, India and moved to the United States in 1981 to study and pursue his passions. He has two decades of federal government contracting experience serving both Civilian and Defense customers. Since 2001, Mr. Handa has built Columbus as a thriving small business that successfully graduated from the Small Business Administration 8(a) Program. Today, Columbus has grown to an emerging mid-tier company with focus on the Aerospace, Health and National Security sectors.

Prior to Columbus, Mr. Handa was vice president of operations for Pace Industries/Leggett & Platt, a major Fortune 500 firm in Los Angeles, California. This background set the standard of excellence that Mr. Handa instills in all of his employees. This includes delivering a high quality of work, balancing family commitments, actively supporting the community, and delivering exemplary customer service. His first position out of college was as a quality engineering manager for Matrix Science Corporation.

Mr. Handa is a strong advocate for community outreach and continuously supports various philanthropic endeavors through Columbus. Just a few examples include the JPL Student Intern Initiatives, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Youth Career Connect (YCC) Internship Program. Additionally, Columbus has served as a sponsor for Pasadena public schools, Promise House in Zambia, Africa, the NASA GSFC Fun Run and the Capital College STEM Coalition Initiatives.

Mr. Handa holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from West Coast University. He and his wife, Reva, reside in Southern California.