Ravi Venkatesan
Independent Director, Infosys
Ravi Venkatesan was the Chairman of Microsoft India. Under his leadership from 2004-2011, India became Microsoft’s second largest and one of its fastest growing geographies. With Ravi at the helm of affairs, Microsoft India has been consistently rated among the Best Employers and the Most Respected Companies in India.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Ravi worked for over 17 years with Cummins Inc., the world leader in engines and related technologies. As the Chairman of Cummins India Limited, he oversaw the transformation of Cummins into the leading provider of power solutions and the largest manufacturer of automotive engines in the country.
Ravi is a Director on the Board of AB Volvo and a member of the Advisory Boards of Harvard Business School and Bunge Ltd. He has contributed frequently to the Harvard Business Review. Some of his articles include, ‘Strategic Sourcing - to Make or Not to Make’ and ‘The Strategy that Wouldn't Travel.’ He is currently working on a book titled ‘Winning in India’ to be published in early 2012 by Harvard Business School Publishing.
Ravi has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (1985), a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University (1986) and an MBA from Harvard University (1992) where he was a Baker Scholar. Ravi was awarded the Purdue University's Outstanding Industrial Engineer award in 2000 and the Distinguished Alumnus award by the Indian Institute of Technology in 2003.