- ‘Dream big and work hard’ is his success mantra
- Mentoring youngsters in India and abroad is his hobby
- Tatas made him an outstanding winner
Hyderabad born and Harvard educated Growth Strategy Leader Ravi Kyasaram won 40 under 40 in American Business Awards. Emerging leader, Growth Strategy Expert, Father and Fitness enthusiast Ravi Kyasaram spoke about his journey and what it means to be included in the 40 under 40 American Business Awards.
Education should be top priority
‘Dream big & work hard’ – is a motto that young Indian growth strategist, Ravi Kyasaram strongly believes in. Born to two now retired State Bank of Hyderabad employees, in Hyderabad, India, Ravi believes that education must be the top priority of every individual to achieve success. The journey of an Indian boy pushing hard in the United States to make it worthwhile is perhaps quite common in today’s world but definitely not an easy one. “The impact one can have at a global level is the most important reason why I am here. We have enjoyed building a life and community here, and growing professionally and personally has been a great experience so far,” says Kyasaram.
Companies making Covid-19 vaccines
The 2015 Harvard Business School graduate has worked his way upwards for the last six years in Saint Louis, Missouri and made it look effortless. Building a deep expertise in the area of Growth Strategy has led him to work on significant acquisition opportunities as well as organic growth opportunities at Emerson. He is currently working at Edward Jones as the Business Segment Director – growth and technology. Ravi helped build a ground-breaking growth strategy for the $200B automation industry that includes life sciences companies that are involved in making COVID-19 vaccines. He also built important strategic analyses that have led to significant growth for his employers.
Kyasaram has worked directly with the Chairman, CEO and top leaders at Emerson who collectively have several hundred years of expertise in the industry. Insightful, practical, valuable, and strategic, are some of the words that describe Kyasaram’s work ethics and analyses. Speaking about his journey, he says “I always knew I wanted to maximize my potential and definitely make an impact on the community I live in. I want this to be a learning experience for every individual out there who dares to believe and dream big that wonderful things can happen with the right path of education and sincere efforts.”
McNuggets of Wisdom
Ravi worked at a local McDonald’s restaurant in Saint Peters, Missouri to learn about the food service industry. At the end of this experience, he authored ‘In Pursuit of McNuggets of Wisdom’. This book has uncovered several unmet needs of the critical quick serve food industry. As a part of his Growth Strategy work, he introduced bottom-up sales forecasting techniques and designed a new customer acquisition strategy for their solutions-based end user business. Ravi attributes much of his current success to his formative career at the Tata Group and his upbringing in India. After graduating from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh he moved to Lucknow to start his career at Tata Motors where he spent three years before making it to the 65-year-old prestigious Tata Administrative Service. As a result, he worked with top leaders across Titan, Tata Steel, and Tata Africa in Mozambique before he worked in a Defence Electronics company that was directly overseen by Ratan Tata’s Office.
Footprint in Hyderabad
Before leaving for Harvard to pursue his MBA, Ravi was instrumental in setting up operations for the Defence Electronics company in his hometown, Hyderabad, India. He fondly recollects that, “everyone at the Tata Group was very supportive of my dream to pursue an MBA at Harvard and took a great sense of pride when I, a fellow Indian, got into Harvard Business School.” Investing time and giving back to the community is what he cares about the most. “Education has helped my father break the shackles of poverty and hence I find great purpose in working with students in India to help them realize their complete potential,” says Kyasaram. By mentoring young Indians living abroad and, in India, he has been an inspiration to the next generation of students. His efforts in helping students at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur, were so well received by the institute that they conferred upon Kyasaram, a Distinguished Honorary Professorship in Strategy.
Physical, mental fitness
In addition to addressing students, Ravi frequently helps individuals with their career planning and development leading to interviews from Saint Louis based companies through the St. Louis Mosaic Project of the World Trade Center’s Professional Connector initiative. He was also a part of the ‘Namaste India Advisory Council’ at the Magic House, a Children’s Museum, which today inspires visitors to comprehend and compare their own lives and those of children in India. “It definitely takes a village to raise our future generation and I want to go the extra mile inculcating in them from a very young age that education is what will keep the world going forward,” says Kyasaram. Being a huge advocate and supporter for mental and physical health, Kyasaram says, “Be it a run, walk, stretch or jump rope – have a few minutes set out every single day for yourself and your body. It improves focus, creates an adrenaline rush to do more and of course works towards being fit and healthy.” He himself has created his own personal record of running for 400 days continuously without fail. “Come what may, I needed to do this for myself and to show everyone around me that it is possible to conquer what you set your mind on. Being physically and mentally healthy must be a state of mind that can be worked upon with determination and focus.”
Ravi lives with his wife, Tarini, and their two-year-old daughter Zia and five-month-old son, Zeev in Saint Louis, Missouri. Personal recognition was received from Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. David Farr during ‘Vibrant Gujarat,’ on Invitation from Prime Minister Modi.
