also by Breakthrough, a global nonprofit, for his contributions in advancing women's causes in 2016. In 2017, Paliwal was named to the inaugural Recode 100, recognizing the year's most influential people in tech, business and media, and B'nai B'rith International honored him with its Distinguished Achievement Award. In the same year, Paliwal also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and made a donation to Miami University's Farmer School of Business along with his wife to create the Dinesh and Ila Paliwal Innovation Chair and the Dinesh and Ila Paliwal Scholarship. Samsung announced its intent to acquire HARMAN for approximately $8 billion in November 2016, with Paliwal continuing to lead the company post-acquisition. The transaction was completed in March 2017. Paliwal stepped down on April 1, 2020 after nearly 14 years with the company as President and CEO of Harman and served as a Senior Advisor to the board of directors and to the new CEO, Michael Mauser, until December 2020. The last ten years Paliwal tripled Harman's revenue. Early life Paliwal was born on December 17, 1957 in Agra, India as one of seven children in a family of modest means. He married Ila Sharma after attending University of Roorkee. Paliwal's father, Ram Chandra Paliwal, was a nationally renowned social leader who worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders in India's freedom movement. He obtained an engineering degree with merit from the University of Roorkee (now renamed as the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee), India. He was later awarded a full scholarship to pursue advanced degrees in Engineering and Management at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA. Paliwal left India in 1981, but still visits frequently with his family and for business activities. His wife, son and daughter are all accomplished musicians. References External links Harman profile 1957 births Living people Indian emigrants to the United States Miami University alumni IIT Roorkee alumni People from Agra American chief executives People from Stamford, Connecticut Harman International 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American people of Indian descent Chief executives in the technology industry American technology chief executives