As CEO and “chief problem solver” for Affinity Technology, Rishi Sood inspires his team to provide the human connection often missing in a company’s relationship with their IT provider. He and his team are passionate about helping clients increase profits and gain a competitive advantage.
Rishi started at the company in 2004 when it was known as CMDS, Inc., filling various roles including technical, management, sales and operations.
In 2007 Rishi became a partner in the company with 10% ownership, and the company was rebranded as Affinity Technology. He played a key role in the company’s vision and shifting business model, and in 2010 he gained an additional 15% ownership and was promoted to VP of Operations.
In 2019 he purchased the remaining 75% interest in the company and became CEO.
“I am motivated by the positive feedback we receive from clients,” says Rishi. “There is nothing better than having them see measurable improvements in areas like profitability, service delivery, customer engagement and satisfaction, employee morale and even quality of life.”
Rishi started his IT career as a high school senior working for a computer consulting company. He expanded from there to work for a year at the Boys and Girls Club as an educational supervisor.
With these experiences under his belt, he went on to earn two associate’s degrees—in network security and business management—while working as a tech for Mesa Community College. At the college he started as an intern, was promoted to lead intern, then manager of the intern program. He also taught classes as adjunct faculty before joining Affinity in 2004 as a technician.
He holds many certifications from vendors including Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, HP, and more.
In addition to his work with Affinity, Rishi recently joined the board of directors for College Bound AZ, a nonprofit that helps under-represented students on their journey to college and a better future through mentorship, guidance and support.
Rishi is an Arizona native born and raised in Casa Grande and currently lives in Tempe with his beautiful pit bull Roxy.
In his spare time he loves to ride motorcycles. He owns several, including two that he’s ridden more than 100,000 miles each! He also cares for a self-propagating cichlid tank and owns 3 chickens that lay eggs for him. He enjoys shooting guns, hunting, fishing, camping and more recently, 4-wheeling! According to Rishi, he is pretty decent in the kitchen, and enjoys experimenting with his Lang smoker.
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