The tragic and untimely death of a tech CEO in front of hundreds of employees was captured on film during the company’s anniversary celebration.
What was meant to be a grand entrance from 56-year-old Vistex CEO Sanjay Shah ended up being a horrific exit as the Illinois-based revenue management company celebrated its Silver Jubilee. As part of a two-day event being held at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India, an estimated 700 employees were in attendance as their boss could be seen plummeting to his death after a cable snapped Thursday, the Times of India reported.
Video from the event showed as Shah, alongside Vistex president Vishwanath Raju Datla, were suspended above the event in a cage that had pyrotechnics shooting off of either side. As they went up and down with flames shooting off of the stage below them, a wire suddenly snapped and the two men could be seen falling from an estimated height of 20 feet.
#Hyderabad | Sanjay Shah, the CEO of Illinois-based firm Vistex, and company president Raju Datla were being lowered onto a stage in an iron platform at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad when one of the wires snapped.
Read the full story: https://t.co/mcuEraNkaR pic.twitter.com/FBwQ7X2vqd
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) January 20, 2024
“It took close to 15-20 minutes for the event [organizers] to arrange an ambulance to transport the injured to the hospital,” the director of Vistex had reportedly said in filing a complaint to Abdullapurmet police alleging fault for both the accident and delayed medical care.
Shah’s injuries had proved fatal after impacting the concrete stage while Raju Datla was reportedly left in critical condition as of Saturday night. “We had to transport Raju Datla in our car,” the complainant had told police.
The officer responsible for the investigation had told the Times of India, “We will take appropriate action against the accused based on department officials’ findings.”
A company official had told the outlet, “Shah and Raju being lowered from the cage onto the dais was a planned event to kickstart the celebrations.”
Prior to his sudden death, Shah’s advisory service company had been founded in 1999, going on to do business with clients that included Apple, Coca-Cola, GM, Walmart and Yamaha among others. The Mumbai, India-born entrepreneur had immigrated to the United States in the 80s to attend Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where, at 21-years-old, he earned his MBA.
According to the school’s website, “He held positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and General Motors before moving to Germany to work for software giant SAP.”
Following his departure from SAP, Shah founded Vistex and used his success to give back to Lehigh University, donating $5 million toward the establishment of the Vistex Institute for Executive Learning and Research in 2017. He had also established the Vistex Hospital in Bihar, India in 2020 which was later recognized “as a national model Covid-19 facility.”
Reactions to the tragedy included surprise from many that there were evidently no secondary safety precautions in place to prevent the two executives from falling from the cage.
Very sad & tragic for all whole witnessed it.
— Sasha ☘️ (@DobLizzy2) January 21, 2024
Such a tragic incident. Safety precautions are paramount when it comes to any form of performance. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and colleagues of Sanjay Shah during this difficult time. Lets hope lessons are learned and measures are put in place to prevent such…
— Crypto Signals (@CryptoSignalsU) January 21, 2024
No safety harness?
Where was this performance?— Cat Ryan (@CatQuestionsAll) January 21, 2024
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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