# Shyam Salona

> Shyam Salona is the co-founder and CEO of REI Systems, a government technology company he started with Veer Bhartiya in 1989. A former CTO and Digital Equipment Corporation principal engineer, he has built his leadership approach around small teams, employee autonomy and public-sector outcomes. REI became fully employee-owned in 2025.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at REI Systems
- **Organizations:** REI Systems, Digital Equipment Corporation
- **Education:** M.S. in Operations Research, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, Diploma for graduate research in Computer Science, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, M.S. in Computer Science, University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette)
- **Known for:** Co-founded REI Systems in 1989., Federal 100 recognition in 2008 for work on USAspending.gov., Helped develop the Electronic Handbook approach used in early REI workflow automation.

## Career timeline

- **1980** — Moved to the United States for computer science graduate study.
- **1982** — Completed his computer science master’s degree in Lafayette, Louisiana.
- **Before 1989** — Worked as a principal engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation in Nashua, New Hampshire.
- **1989** — Co-founded REI Systems with Veer Bhartiya.
- **1994** — REI hired its first employee, Samidha Manu, and moved from a townhouse basement to an office in Vienna.
- **2008** — Received a Federal 100 award for REI’s work on USAspending.gov, according to the company timeline.
- **2015 / 2016** — REI’s current history dates his transition from CTO to CEO to 2015; contemporaneous appointment reporting appeared in August 2016.
- **2025** — REI became 100% employee-owned during his tenure as CEO.
- **2026** — Continued as CEO as REI launched GovOrch AI and GovGrants Public Sector.

## Achievements

- Co-founded REI Systems in 1989.
- Federal 100 recognition in 2008 for work on USAspending.gov.
- Helped develop the Electronic Handbook approach used in early REI workflow automation.
- Led REI as CEO during its 2025 transition to full employee ownership.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — REI announced GovGrants Public Sector on Salesforce on October 21.
- **2026-09** — REI announced its return as lead sponsor of the Arthur S. Flemming Awards.
- **2026-06** — Published “Public Service Is America’s Enduring Innovation,” discussing AI, public trust and human judgment.
- **2026-05** — As CEO, commented on the launch of REI’s GovOrch AI platform.
- **2025-06** — REI announced its ninth Washington Post Top Workplace recognition and described itself as fully employee-owned.

## Links

- Website: https://www.reisystems.com/aboutrei/our-leadership/shyam-salona/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shyam-salona-3316b15

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/shyam-salona
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23