RAMYAA RAMESH
T
he
career
of
Lakshmi
Venkatachalam is riveting and fascinating, especially her
uncanny
ability
to
embrace
opportunities that comes her way. It is not easy to forge a career in the US, especially when one does not graduate out of a university there; Lakshmi seems to have managed it very effectively. It would be interesting to follow the journey of this typical ‘Mylaporian’ girl who did her schooling in Rosary Matriculation and then completed her B.Com in Ethiraj College. She later completed MBA and ICWA and was all set for a great career in India with her first job at Pond’s. It was a job that was doubly exciting for her—as it was in Chennai itself, a city that was her greatest love. But matters of the heart took priority. Marriage to her classmate, who wanted to pursue his career in the US, took her to Silicon Valley, California. A finance and operations career in an all tech Silicon Valley seemed a difficult prospect for young Lakshmi as she began her career search. However, she believed in herself and has strived hard to see herself as a Vice President in the $40 billion technology giant, Oracle Corporation today. “Believe in yourself, work hard, do
