Jorma Ollila
Executive Chairman
Sridhar Divakaruni
Vice President of Business Development
I consider myself to be extraordinarily fortunate. Born and raised in India, I got a ringside view and appreciation for ingenuity and innovation. People with so little, yet being remarkably resourceful in getting by. With ten siblings, all of whom became engineers or physicians, STEM was in my blood.
I was fascinated by the concept of being able to structure materials based on desired properties and so studied Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. With Silicon Valley booming in the eighties and the breakneck pace of innovation driven by Moore’s Law, it was inevitable that I would be drawn to do my Graduate studies in Microelectronics and eventually work for IBM.
As IBM transformed from a hardware company to a software based services company, I had the privilege of learning all aspects of innovation in hardware and software across multiple industry verticals. The Services business and the internet taught me that innovation happens in business models and strategy, not just in products or technology. This served me well as I moved to United Technologies to help monetize their vast portfolio of Intellectual Property.
The one constant in this humbling ride has been a reaffirmation, time and again, that the best ideas emerge from discussion and debate between individuals from diverse disciplines. Which explains why I am excited to now be a part of Xinova’s team!