BlackBeltHelp Expands Executive Leadership Team with Appointment of Dr. Stephen Drew as COO and Shekhar Gulati as CTO
Miami, FL | December 5, 2025 – BlackBeltHelp, the leading provider of AI Helpdesk solutions for higher education, today announced the appointment of Dr. Stephen Drew as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Shekhar Gulati as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). These appointments mark a pivotal step in BlackBeltHelp’s continued expansion, reinforcing its mission to redefine the student experience through AI, automation, and scalable technology platforms.
“Stephen and Shekhar bring exceptional leadership, domain expertise, and a shared passion for transforming how institutions engage and support their students,” said Christopher Uthe, President of BlackBeltHelp. “Their experience will accelerate our vision of delivering intelligent, connected, and human-centered student support at scale.”
“As we enter our next phase of growth, we’re building an executive team that reflects our deep commitment to innovation and impact,” said Anjli Jain, Chairman of the Board at BlackBeltHelp and GP of ElevenX Capital. “Stephen and Shekhar’s leadership will strengthen our operational foundation while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI in higher education.”
As COO, Dr. Stephen Drew will oversee the day-to-day operations of customer success, service delivery, product management, engineering, and back-office teams – driving excellence and efficiency across all business lines. Prior to joining BlackBeltHelp, Stephen served as Chief Operating Officer at Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) and held leadership roles at Five9, Uniphore, and Cigna. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration in Applied AI from DePaul University and a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
As CTO, Shekhar Gulati will lead BlackBeltHelp’s AI innovation, platform modernization, and product engineering strategy. A seasoned technologist with more than two decades of experience, Shekhar most recently served as Global CTO at Xebia, where he drove large-scale digital transformation initiatives using microservices and cloud-native architectures. Previously, he was Principal Evangelist at Red Hat, advancing open-source and developer ecosystems. His current focus lies at the frontier of generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and intelligent agents – technologies that are rapidly shaping the future of higher education service delivery. Shekhar also shares insights on architecture, AI, and modern engineering practices through his popular technical blog.
With these leadership additions, BlackBeltHelp strengthens its position as the AI-powered partner of choice for higher education, trusted by 130+ institutions nationwide to enhance student success, streamline campus operations, and reduce support costs through automation and innovation.
As part of its continued commitment to innovation and partnership, BlackBeltHelp will host a Fireside Chat on December 11, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET, led by President Christopher Uthe with Dr. Stephen Drew (COO) and Shekhar Gulati (CTO).
They will dive into “How AI Is Driving Measurable Value Across Higher Ed Institutions,” examining real-world outcomes, hybrid human-AI support models, and the steps institutions can take to get AI-ready.
Registration is free for all higher-education leaders and technology teams.
