Alumni Spotlight

American Dream

MAE alum Kotagiri now CEO of prominent mobility technology company

Seetarama (Swamy) Kotagiri was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Magna International on Jan. 1, 2021.

Kotagiri is an Oklahoma State University alumnus with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with a specialization in materials and structural engineering.

Kotagiri has more than 30 years of experience in his industry, 21 of it being with Magna International. Early in his Magna career, he also held many different engineering and operating positions at Cosma International, which is a Magna operating unit.

Kotagiri came to OSU from a small village in India after receiving his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kamataka University. He graduated from OSU in 1994.

“Coming to Oklahoma State University from a small village in India was the first step in my pursuit of the American Dream,” Kotagiri said.

During his time at OSU, Kotagiri learned how the opportunities given can stretch far beyond Stillwater, Oklahoma. He also experienced how kind and welcoming the students and staff at the university are.

“As I worked on my master’s degree in mechanical engineering, I got a sense of what OSU students call the ‘cowboy spirit,’ and learned that opportunities that begin in Stillwater stretch as far as the eye can see,” Kotagiri said.

Kotagiri has more than 12 patents with automotive product and process design. He is also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Engineering Society in Detroit. Kotagiri has been featured in Business Insider’s 100 People Transforming Business.

Before his position as CEO, Kotagiri held the position of President of Magna where he was instrumental in driving the company’s overall strategy including strengthening the alignment with customers, R&D and new mobility activities.

“A key mentor was Eric Price, a former dean of mechanical engineering at OSU,” Kotagiri said. “I was working as a young mechanical engineer in the cement industry in India at the time, and seeking advice about moving to the U.S. Price responded to my letter, and his kindness and advice prepared me for success. I still remember arriving in the U.S. with little money in my pocket, enough to cover my first semester’s tuition, and the bag on my back.”

Since those times, Kotagiri has accomplished and learned many things through his time at Magna International. He hopes that, as CEO of Magna, he can help the company continue advancing mobility for everyone and everything.

“Even though I’m the CEO of a $40-billion mobility technology company, I’m still an engineer at heart,” Kotagiri said. “Today, I’m working with more than 158,000 Magna employees around the world with the dream of providing mobility for all. But I will never forget that Oklahoma State University helped to lay the foundation for my future.”

Impacting the World

Perry’s experience at CEAT helped him become GM for Microsoft

Dr. Matt Perry is an Oklahoma State University alumnus with three degrees in electrical engineering.

He last graduated from OSU with his doctorate in 1991, where he focused on signal processing, system theory and mathematics.

Perry has over 35 years of industry and academic experience, spanning three different areas: defense; semiconductors; and hyperscale hardware and software systems.

He has been an assistant professor at Texas Tech, a president and CEO for multiple companies and now a general manager at Microsoft.

“I came to Microsoft because I wanted an opportunity to make a difference and impact the world around me,” Perry said. “Over the past decade, I’ve worked on Windows and Azure, the world’s computer, both touching the lives of millions.”

Before his doctorate, Perry also graduated from OSU with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering.

“I came to Oklahoma State because it has one of the best engineering schools in the country,” Perry said. “I kept coming back, not only for the great EE department, but also the professors and students around me were friendly and helped me every step of the way.”

Perry commends his professors and OSU CEAT staff for providing him with the support he needed to graduate with his undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees at OSU.

“One of my proudest moments at OSU is when I completed my Ph.D. defense,” Perry said. “I will never forget standing in front of my major professor, Dr. Rao Yarlagadda, as he extended his hand to shake and said, ‘Congratulations Dr. Perry, you have passed.’

After years of work and research, I would not have been able to do it without the help of the Cowboy family.”

Perry’s advice to young professionals and students starting their careers is to expand their horizons past their majors’ known interests.

“One of the most important lessons I learned from OSU is to branch out and try things outside of your comfort zone,” Perry said. “Without doing this, it is more challenging to grow and become the person you want to be.

“You may find a new passion or hobby, but going outside of your comfort zone and learning new things will open doors that you never knew were available.”

Building a Model

The Cowboy Engineers of DFW alumni group do things a bit different

Bigger is better. A group of College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology alumni in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is hoping to start a big movement across the country.

On the heels of Oklahoma State University’s Branding Success campaign, Stan Woodward, who graduated from OSU in 1984 with a degree in electrical engineering, and former CEO at MVPindex, sought out groups in the DFW area who were discussing CEAT and the happenings on campus and began building a group with a BIG end goal.

“We want DFW to be the largest OSU CEAT alumni group in the country,” Woodward said.

Since its inception, the Cowboy Engineers of DFW alumni group has always focused on finding alumni and providing them with the opportunity to join a group that could provide an organized, passionate membership dedicated to championing CEAT.

“Our chapter is like any other alumni chapter,” said Woodward, a DFW group board member. “We bring people together to share experiences about where they started, where they’ve been and where they ended up and what their journey looked like.”

The earliest and perhaps largest obstacle was simply finding the alumni and getting in contact with them. Woodward first reached out to the Alumni Association to develop a partnership that would provide the alumni group the contact information available to the Alumni Association.

However, that wasn’t the group’s only means of building a membership base. Woodward and other members of the board dedicated countless hours to scouring social media pages for CEAT alumni

in the DFW area, and provided links for numerous other potential members. Moving forward, the board knew that communication was going to be key as their membership numbers began to grow. “I knew we needed organized, strategic messaging,” Woodward said. “Something that would be cohesive, cut through all the clutter and provide the group messaging opportunities that wouldn’t require multiple interactions to be impactful.” The board knew that they needed to differentiate their message, so as not to be seen as a “fundraising campaign.” The goal was to be an alumni-to-alumni network, not something directly connected to CEAT. Fairly soon after the founding members began reaching out to other alumni, the group reached 40-50 members, and is now at nearly 100 members and growing. “We experienced “We enjoy connecting some very early success,” with students and Woodward said. “And we’ve been able to build upon sharing with them the possibilities that come that success and continue to strive toward our goal of being the largest CEAT with an education from CEAT and choosing a alumni group in the country.” The group holds meetings and social gatherings geared career in STEAM.” toward camaraderie and networking, however the STAN WOODWARD, ‘84 second largest contributor to the group’s success has been its concerted effort to involve people still directly connected to CEAT. The group has had CEAT Dean Paul Tikalsky attend gatherings to give updates on the state of CEAT and the continued growth of the college on campus. The group has also had the opportunity to involve key members of each school within CEAT in their gatherings as another means of updating its members, but also to provide a direct connection between the group and Stillwater.

Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Dr. Paul Tikalsky (far right) provides updates on the college to members of the Cowboy Engineers of DFW alumni group.

The final goal of the group began organically through numerous conversations, but has proven to be one of the biggest sources of excitement among its members. The group has begun reaching out to other members and counterparts on campus to see how they can give back. The desire has blossomed into a network of mentors looking to connect with current and potential future students in order to share their career and life experiences, as well as provide a source of enthusiasm for engineering, architecture and technology careers.

“We enjoy connecting with students and sharing with them the possibilities that come with an education from CEAT and choosing a career in STEAM,” Woodward said.

The group has also recently begun efforts to provide a scholarship for students from the DFW area. This provides another opportunity for the group to connect with students and provide the next generation with opportunities to pursue their education in CEAT and continue to bolster the number of engineers for the next generation.

The group in DFW has experienced unprecedented success and has become a model for alumni groups in other cities.

All it takes is a group of passionate individuals dedicated to providing an organized community for other CEAT alumni, along with an eagerness to be connected and involved in CEAT happenings in Stillwater and a desire to share their experiences with other alumni and the next generation of engineers.