Rattan L. Khosa, M.S. ’71

Rattan L. Khosa, M.S. ’71

Rattan L. Khosa serves as the CEO and founder of AMSYSCO Inc., where his visionary leadership drives determination, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. Born in India to a well-off family, Khosa faced discrimination as an outsider to his local community and in not being selected for a job after graduating from college in spite of top test scores. He came to the United States in 1969 with an immigrant visa for engineers, having received a research fellowship to study at the University of Maryland. Due to the foreign exchange crisis in India at that time, one could secure an exchange for only $8US which is what he had when he left India and arrived at UMD’s Adele H. Stamp Student Union with just $3.75 remaining. He earned his master’s degree in Structural Engineering in 1971.

A successful entrepreneur today, Khosa overcame many obstacles to complete his education, blaze a career path, and create a thriving business that generates economic benefits for his loyal employees, suppliers, customers and the community. He is grateful for the opportunities available in America and for what he has been able to achieve, against all odds.

In 1981, Khosa founded AMSYSCO Inc., a leading supplier of post-tensioning, barrier cables, and stud rails for commercial construction buildings. The company began in the basement of his home, funded by his life savings of $44,000 and no outside financing. His commitment to superior customer service and quality products fueled its growth, weathering financial storms while contributing to landmark structures nationwide. Previously, he was a Chief Operating Officer and Division Manager at Concrete Construction Supply, Inc., sales manager at INRYCO, Inc. and a design engineer at Atlas Pre-stressing Corp.

Khosa serves as a Board member of the Post Tensioning Institute, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago (previously known as Polsky Advisory Board on Entrepreneurship at Booth School of Business) and, formerly, the US-India Chamber of Commerce. He was recognized as the 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Booth School of Business and awarded the 2020 Legend and Hall of Fame Award from the Post-Tensioning Institute and the Pinnacle Award from the Kashmiri Overseas Association.

Khosa received the Glenn L. Martin Award from the A. James School of Engineering in November 2023 and was the speaker at the Clark School’s Graduate Commencement Ceremony in Spring 2024. His generosity shines through initiatives like the Rattan L. Khosa Graduate Endowed Scholarship in Structural Engineering at the University of Maryland. In addition, he endowed the Rattan L. Khosa Student Entrepreneurs Program at the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (which enables Rattan L. Khosa SEEDCON, Chicago Booth’s annual entrepreneurship and venture capital conference) and The Rattan L. Khosa Scholarship, which empowers MBA students.

Khosa holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and M.S. in Structural Engineering from the University of Maryland, a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Rajasthan, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Jammu and Kashmir.