BALA RAJARAMAN:
 
Bala Rajaraman




 
 
 
 
 
Co-founder, President, and CEO of Marvel Technologies in Novi. Rajaraman is responsible for developing the strategy and vision for the company, which develops and delivers professional services in support of SAP (systems applications and products) used in data processing. Marvel is a member of the SAP PartnerEdge program and has developed SAP-certified CompEZ and FormsEZ add-on software programs. Marvel plans a partnership with SuccessFactors, a SAP company, as its SuccessConsulting partner where Marvel will provide consulting, implementation, and training for SuccessFactors' Business Execution (BizX) Software Suite. Under Rajaraman's leadership, the company ranked No. 2,816 in the Inc. 5,000 for 2012, reporting a three-year revenue increase of 117 percent. The company, founded in 2006, has 65 employees. Its 2011 revenue was $2.7 million. Corp! magazine recently recognized Rajaraman as a 2012 Diversity Winner. Rajaraman is a SAP veteran with more than a decade of experience leading implementation of application projects at companies including DTE Energy, Novartis, and Colgate Palmolive. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Madras University and his master's degree in computer applications from Bharathidasan University in India.


WHERE BORN: “Chennai, India.”

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: “A person who used to work with me at IBM, Sundeep. He was very inspirational and helped me get to where I am today. In sports, Pete Sampras. In business, Steve Jobs. I admire them.”

LAST BOOK READ: “Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.”

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: “Very hard working, never-say-die attitude, and I try to do everything in a straightforward way.”

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: “We're focused mainly on SAP, so we're planning to build more products that will be add-ons for existing solutions. There's an increased demand because SAP is all over now and we're trying to fill in the gaps.”

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: “iPhone.”

FAVORITE PLACE: “The most beautiful place is Niagara Falls.”

FAVORITE HOBBIES: “I watch a little TV and I love dancing.”

FAVORITE FOOD: “Indian chicken.”

MY HIDDEN TALENT: “Dancing.”

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: “As the most straightforward person, good dad, and good husband.”


Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2014, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.