Raj Vattikuti is an American-Indian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations ...

and philanthropist. He is the Founder and Chairman of Altimetrik Corp. He is also the founder of Vattikuti Foundation. through which he is involved in many charitable causes. Previously, he was Founder and CEO of Covansys Corp., an IT services company, which was acquired by

Computer Sciences Corporation Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) was an American multinational corporation that provided information technology (IT) services and professional services. On April 3, 2017, it merged with the Enterprise Services line of business of HP Ente ...

in a $1.3 billion deal.

Early life and education

Raj Vattikuti was born in the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, India. He is married to Padma Vattikuti. He attended

College of Engineering, Guindy The College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) is a public engineering college in Chennai, India and is Asia's oldest technical institution, founded in 1794. It is also the oldest technical institution to be established outside Europe. History Due ...

India, where he earned a bachelor's degree in

Electronic Engineering Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...

. He then attended

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

where he earned an MS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Raj Vattikuti also holds an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in Business Administration from Bryant College.

Career

Prior to his first venture, Raj Vattikuti was an MIS project leader for Chrysler Corporation between 1977 and 1983. Between 1983 and 1985, he was the Director of MIS in Yurika Foods Corporation. He founded Covansys Corp. – initially named Complete Business Solutions, Inc. – in 1985, which was acquired by Computer Science Corporation in 2007. He founded Vattikuti Foundation in 1997; Synova, Inc., in 1998; and Altimetrik Corp., in 2012. He is also the founder of Davinta Technologies, Vattikuti Technologies, and Vattikuti Ventures.

Awards and recognition

Raj Vattikuti is the recipient of TiE Detroit 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007

Woodrow Wilson Award Woodrow Wilson Awards are given out in multiple countries each year by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution to individuals in both the public sphere and business who have shown an outstanding commitm ...

for Corporate Citizenship, 2002

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

, and Dykema Gossett 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Philanthropy

Raj Vattikuti donated $20 million each to

Henry Ford Hospital Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) is an 877-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex at the western edge of the New Center area in Detroit, Michigan. The flagship facility for the Henry Ford Health System, it was one of the first hos ...

and

William Beaumont Hospital Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak (BHRO) is a nationally ranked, 1131 bed non-profit, acute care teaching hospital located in Royal Oak, Michigan, providing tertiary care and healthcare services to the Royal Oak region and Metro Detroit. Beaumont Hospi ...

in Detroit, Michigan in 2001. He founded the Poverty Alleviation Initiative in 2009 which works towards rural health, education and employment in rural India. In April 2020, he donated $400,000 to facilitate – in partnership with the Henry Ford Health System and the City of Detroit – on-site COVID-19 testing for all residents of the city's 126 nursing homes and senior assisted living facilities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vattikuti, Raj American people of Indian descent American technology company founders Indian technology company founders American philanthropists Indian philanthropists 1950 births Living people