CHAMPAIGN — Greg Gonda has been hired as director of the Small Business Development Center in Champaign.

Gonda succeeds William Wilkinson, who counseled small businesses and led business workshops for many years.

Joining Gonda is Chirag Shah as the center's technology, innovation and entrepreneurship services specialist.

Both will work from the center's office in the Champaign County Economic Development Corp. suite at Illini Plaza, 1817 S. Neil St., C.

Gonda, who has lived in the Champaign-Urbana area for 30 years, was most recently general manager at Zeltech IT Services in Champaign. Before that, he was director of business development at Midstate Collection Solutions.

Gonda and Shah will provide free counseling to those interested in starting a business or improving an existing business.

A certified public accountant, Gonda said he has experience in finance, human resources, sales, strategic planning and the formulation of business and marketing plans.

He said he is eager to specifically help minorities, women and veterans interested in starting or expanding businesses.

Shah, who received a bachelor's degree in physiology and chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1995, returned to the Champaign-Urbana area in August 2010 when his wife, Dr. Manisha Shah, joined the Danville Polyclinic as an obstretrician-gynecologist.

Chirag Shah is chief executive officer of Mogambo Solutions, a patent research and strategy company based in Alexandria, Va., that has a branch office in the UI Research Park.

Shah earned a master's degree in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He teaches a course in patent research and strategy at the UI College of Law.

Besides being a founder of Mogambo Solutions, he also founded InvestorIP, a patent consulting firm that was eventually folded into another company, he said.

Shah said he plans to work from the economic development corporation offices three days a week and at EnterpriseWorks in the UI Research Park two days a week.

Sometime this year, the Small Business Development Center is set to begin providing business services one day a week at the Rantoul Business Center.