EDISON, N.J. (Diya TV) — Indian American entrepreneur Suresh U. Kumar has received the 2025 Dieter Weissenrieder Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition. The award ceremony took place on June 24 at Pines Manor in Edison, New Jersey.
The award celebrates Kumar’s contributions as an immigrant entrepreneur, educator, and community leader. It honors his dedication to business innovation, mentorship, and public service. In his acceptance speech, Kumar highlighted the importance of immigrant identity in American society.
“The two words that make the 2025 Dieter Weissenrieder Lifetime Achievement Award special for me are ‘Immigrant Entrepreneur,’” Kumar said. “These words best define me, next only to the most important affiliation that I share with many of you—that of an American Citizen.”
He added, “Today, when immigrants are unfairly targeted, vilified, and maligned by people in positions of power, I proudly embrace my identity as an American Immigrant Entrepreneur.”
His words resonated deeply with the audience and reflected the spirit of the award, which recognizes the value immigrants bring to the United States.
Kumar was born in Kochi, India, and began his public life as a student political leader. He moved to the United States in 1991 and has since built a career as a serial entrepreneur, professor, and nonprofit leader.
He co-founded his first business in 1999 and currently serves as director of innovation and entrepreneurship at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He is also the founder of The New Frontier Firm, an artificial intelligence startup.
Kumar’s influence extends beyond business. He leads the New Jersey chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a global nonprofit that supports startups through mentorship, education, and networking. Founded in 2007, TiE New Jersey is recognized as one of the top-performing chapters globally.
In addition to his professional roles, Kumar is a published author. His debut novel, The Girl in Scarlet Hijab, has been shortlisted for the 2025 Delhi Literature Festival Jury Award for Fiction.
The Dieter Weissenrieder Lifetime Achievement Award is named after Dieter Weissenrieder, a fellow NJIT graduate and founder of the Weiss-Aug Group in East Hanover. The company specializes in precision metal stamping, injection molding, and advanced assembly solutions.
The award highlights the powerful role that immigrant entrepreneurs play in shaping New Jersey’s economy and communities. It is part of the New Jersey Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards, which recognize immigrants for their leadership in growth, innovation, advocacy, sustainability, and community impact.
According to the New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition, the state’s immigrant entrepreneurs have helped develop many groundbreaking inventions, including the transistor, submarine, game theory, and chemical synthesis of penicillin. They also played key roles in founding iconic companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, Welch’s Grape Juice, and Ballantine Beer.
Kumar’s achievements reflect the mission of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards—to honor those who make a lasting difference. His work continues to inspire the next generation of leaders, particularly within immigrant communities. As the 2025 recipient, Kumar joins a distinguished group of honorees who have contributed to innovation, job creation, and civic life in New Jersey.
