Raj B. Vattikuti

Chief Executive Officer

Raj Vattikuti is a philanthropist and serial entrepreneur who has founded a string of successful enterprises including Altimetrik, Covansys, Synova, Vattikuti Ventures, Vattikuti Technologies, and Davinta Technologies. Raj believes enterprises make a difference not only by leveraging or introducing new technologies but also by attracting, assessing, and transforming talent within their organizations.

Raj formed Altimetrik in 2012 with a vision to create a global company that accelerates digital transformation for the most influential companies in the world. Altimetrik takes a holistic approach for its clients that leverages technology, data, and cultural transformation. While technology makes digital transformation possible, Raj believes it is people that create true transformation.

Through his different ventures, Raj has supported leading global players in healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, retail, travel & hospitality, and financial services.

In 1997, Raj founded a non-profit corporation—the Vattikuti Foundation—which serves communities in Michigan and India. In Michigan, the Foundation established the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Health in Detroit and the Vattikuti Digital Breast Diagnostic Center at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak. In India, the Vattikuti Foundation focuses on developing the infrastructure to connect and coordinate with people in poverty through the Poverty Alleviation Program. The Foundation also works with other causes around the globe. These initiatives strive to improve the lives of those they serve today and into the future.

Raj is a graduate of the College of Engineering, Guindy with a degree in electrical engineering. He holds a post-graduate degree in electrical and computer engineering from Wayne State University. He was conferred an honorary doctorate of business administration by Bryant University. In 2001, he was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the IT industry by Dykema Gossett at the third annual Michigan IT Summit. He is also the recipient of TiE Detroit 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2002, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Raj Sundaresan

Chief Operating Officer

Raj Sundaresan is a seasoned technology and business leader with extensive experience in cultivating successful product development teams around the globe. At Altimetrik, Raj is responsible for leading and implementing the company’s growth strategy. He is focused on scaling offerings in a fast-changing technological landscape, strengthening the company’s focus on customer-centricity and building an employee-driven, open culture of innovation to foster talent.

Prior to Altimetrik, Raj held leading roles with technology teams at Visa, eBay and PayPal. At PayPal, he successfully scaled global product development teams and established development centers in India and Singapore. At eBay, Raj helped fuel business growth by rapidly expanding merchant services as well as mobile, credit and payment capabilities. At Visa, Raj headed Digital and Mobile Product Development and oversaw the launch of widely acclaimed products such as Visa Checkout, Visa Token Service, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, and other mobile enablement platforms.

Hailing from Bangalore, Raj is a computer science engineering graduate from Bangalore University and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Notre Dame de Namur University.

Outside of work, Raj loves a good barbecue with his friends and family and follows the Electro music scene.

Layla Ward

Chief Financial Officer

Layla Ward is a senior executive with a wealth of experience spanning more than 20 years. At Altimetrik, Layla is responsible for all global finance, accounting and legal functions. She focuses on driving operational efficiencies and excellence, realignment of internal processes, long-term strategy and planning, and driving profitability.

Before joining Altimetrik, Layla was interim CFO for PresenceLearning, a privately owned telehealth marketplace and SaaS educational technology company. At PresenceLearning, she managed the Accounting, Finance, Legal and Compliance functions, consistently improving margins, stabilizing performance and reducing earnings volatility. She secured and finalized a round of equity and debt financing and led several strategic initiatives—operating expenses optimization and turnaround strategy—to steer the company toward profitability.

Layla was also the Vice President of Corporate Finance for GlobalLogic, covering operations in seven countries. She also worked at various public high-tech electronic manufacturing companies for more than fifteen years with consistently progressing leadership positions and roles spanning project management, corporate finance, supply chain and operations finance.

Layla is a graduate of economics and finance from the Kazakh Institute of Marketing in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She also holds an MD in pediatrics from the Almaty State Medical Academy and an MBA from the University of San Francisco Graduate School of Management.

Beyond work, Layla enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling and exploring different parts of Northern California.

Jeffrey Fleischman

Chief Marketing Officer

Jeffrey Fleischman is an accomplished senior executive with over 35 years of success in the financial services, banking, insurance and e-commerce industries. At Altimetrik, Jeff heads the company’s brand, marketing, public relations and communications functions.

Most recently, Jeff was Chief Marketing & Digital Officer for Penn Mutual where he led the company’s marketing and digital functions, implemented omni-channel, lead-generation campaigns and established new marketing technology platforms. He has held leadership positions at a variety of companies including Blue Panda Interactive, TIAA-CREF, Citi, Monster Worldwide, American Express and Chase Bank.

Jeff has a passion for crafting and implementing innovative, customer-centric business strategies that increasingly rely on the confluence of data, technology and design. His areas of expertise include omni-channel marketing, lead generation, data analytics, product management, corporate communications, social media, e-commerce, customer retention and business transformation.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from Syracuse University and an MBA in finance, investments & banking from Hofstra University. He has held board positions with Zenmonics Inc., Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Telera and IEP Youth Services.

His interests include fishing, hiking, spending time outdoors and listening to music.

Licenses & Certificates

Forbes Communication Council
Forbes

Continuing Board Education - Understanding and Accurately Presenting Financial Statements to the Board of Directors
The ExecRanks

Continuing Board Education - Cybersecurity at the Board Level
The ExecRanks

Anil Somani

Chief Transformation Officer

US West

Anil Somani is a senior technology and business executive with extensive leadership experience managing large, cross-functional strategies that have defined novel growth strategies through innovative technologies and customer-centric solutions. At Altimetrik, Anil is responsible for expanding existing customer relationships and exploring new partnerships in the US West region. His focus is to drive digital and talent transformation both internally and externally for our customers.

Prior to Altimetrik, Anil was in charge of Digital and Mobile Product Development at Visa where he was instrumental in leading the development of Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Visa Checkout, tokenization and Visa Direct. He initiated and successfully led various engagement, transformation and innovation initiatives and secured patents in the application of Blockchain technologies to financial services.

Anil started his career as a Software Engineer in semiconductor design software. True to his Silicon Valley roots, he worked at several start-ups, moving on to his own venture providing turnkey projects for companies such as HP, Fujitsu and Siemens.

Anil earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer science from Santa Clara University.

In his free time, Anil enjoys hiking, mentoring young students and playing with his dog.

Licenses & Certificates

Forbes Technology Council
Forbes

Ryan Talbott

Chief Transformation Officer

US Midwest and Europe

Ryan Talbott is an inspiring business leader with deep experience in managing change in large, complex organizations that operate in multicultural environments. Over the course of his career, he has built a track record of developing business and IT strategies and creating, inspiring and leading high-performance teams. At Altimetrik, Ryan is responsible for expanding existing customer relationships and developing new ones in the US Midwest and Europe.

Prior to joining Altimetrik, Ryan was VP and Chief Information Officer at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) for North America and Asia-Pacific. He was responsible for all resources, strategy, programs, operations and security across the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) organization. In this role, Ryan drove significant global process change and technology convergence across the ICT landscape.

Prior to FCA, Ryan was an independent consultant and small business owner, successfully leading business process and organizational change for multiple clients. Before becoming an independent consultant, he worked at Accenture where he led business process transformation and systems integration activities on multiple global information technology programs.

Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Michigan State University.

Outside of work Ryan enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, cooking, reading, and learning and trying new things.

Ranga Kanapathy

Head of Engineering and India Technology Center

Ranga Kanapathy is a global IT leader with more than two decades of experience in technology, product, business and leadership roles—predominantly focusing on vision, strategy, innovation, delivery and operational excellence. At Altimetrik, Ranga is focused on engineering rigor and delivery excellence across the organization.

Prior to joining Altimetrik, Ranga was the India Head for VISA Data Labs where he created a successful operating model enabling various cross-functional teams to work on machine learning, data analytics, BI, data app dev, ETL, operations and program management. Earlier, Ranga was with PayPal where he held leadership positions in technology development and acceleration. He was part of the core team setting up the PayPal India Development Centre. Prior to PayPal, Ranga spent over a decade as a Director at Covansys.

An entrepreneur by heart and practice, Ranga co-founded two start-ups in India that provided technology products and solutions to large enterprises. He serves on the board of directors and mentors various start-ups in India.

Ranga received a postgraduate degree in computer applications from Anna University and an MBA in information management from Uptron ACL.

Outside of work, Ranga’s interests include adventure sports, long-distance running, cricket (he represented his state team in U-16s) and playing percussion instruments.

Manuel Vidal

Head of Uruguay Technology Center

Manuel Vidal came to Altimetrik with over 20 years’ experience in technology. He is the Head of the Altimetrik Uruguay Delivery Center, responsible for general management of the Uruguay offices. Manuel provides technical expertise in cloud computing, mobile technologies, scrum teams, talent management, finance and business. He plays a key role in directing and managing the delivery center in South America.

Prior to joining Altimetrik, Manuel was an international consultant specializing in e-Government across Latin America—including Argentina, Paraguay, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama—and working in software engineering for banking and financial services.

Manuel is a graduate in computer science engineering from UDELAR in Montevideo and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Outside of work he enjoys playing squash, sci-fi series, geeky board games and traveling. He is married to Andrea and is the father of Rodrigo, Julieta and Sebastian.

Abhijit Sahay

Chief Technology Officer - Data

Abhijit Sahay is an experienced data scientist and quantitative software professional with broad and deep knowledge of AI, statistics and machine learning. He has led several R&D and engineering teams with a successful track record of delivering data-driven predictive models and software for automation of complex tasks.

Before joining Altimetrik, Abhijit served as the Senior Data Scientist and Head of Analytics and AI at Mediaocean LLC., leading a team of engineers and researchers to develop cutting-edge tools for automation of cross-channel advertising campaigns. He also executed large AI projects from start to finish, including identifying pain points, analyzing data sources, selecting algorithms, prototyping models, and overseeing final deployment.

As the Director of R&D and Technology Global Equities Arbitrage at Deutsche Bank, Abhijit was responsible for all front-office systems including the creation of a platform for evaluating and back-testing data-driven algorithmic trading models, designing user interfaces for real-time analytics, delivering an order execution system capable of trading $500 million daily, and reconciling front-office to the middle- and back-offices systems for PNL and risk, among other things.

Abhijit has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also received his MS. He is a graduate in engineering from IIT Kanpur, India.

Born and raised in India, Abhijit grew up with a love for numbers, calculations, and learning. He is a voracious reader and a passionate teacher who strives to simplify and contextualize complex information.

Jacques Nasser

Jacques Nasser is an Altimetrik strategic advisor. He also serves as a board member and lead independent director, is a member of the audit committee, and is chair of the compensation committee for Fox Corporation. In addition, he is a director of Koç Holdings.

Jacques was most recently the chairman of BHP Billiton and a partner of One Equity Partners, a private equity firm. Prior to BHP Billiton, Mr. Nasser served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a board director of the Ford Motor Company during a career with Ford that spanned 30+ years. Additionally, he has served on the boards of Brambles, Sky, Allianz, and 21st Century Fox.

Mark A. Turner

Mark Turner is a strategic advisor to Altimetrik. His other advisory roles have included: member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board’s Advisory Council (FAC), member of the CEO Council for Growth of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and a member of the advisory board at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School Executive Education programs.

Mark is the current Executive Chairman of WSFS, a high-performing, multi-billion-dollar, publicly-traded financial services organization (NASDAQ:WSFS), the largest bank and trust company headquartered in the Delaware Valley and the seventh oldest bank in the U.S. Over a span of almost 12 years, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer at WSFS after having served in the roles of both the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Mark started his career at the international professional services firm KPMG and subsequently held senior positions at several regional banks.

Mark was named “Community Banker of the Year” by American Banker in 2018 and has been privileged to help lead a company that has been honored by independent surveys as a “Top Workplace” for the last 13 years, a “Gallup Great Workplace” for the last four years, and as the “#1 Bank” in its home market for the last eight years.

Mark received his MBA from the Wharton School, a master’s degree in executive leadership from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and management from LaSalle University. A life-long learner and an ardent believer in strengths-based, positive psychology practices, Mark has also studied at Aspen Institute, NTL Institute, Gallup University, Toyota University, Center for Creative Leadership, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. Mark has mentored students and young professionals and is a frequent speaker on leadership and governance for audiences that include Wharton’s Executive Education programs, where he is also an advisory board member.

Mark is an active leader in his communities. In addition to the leadership roles outlined above, Mark has been Chair of the Delaware Bankers Association and an active member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board’s Advisory Council (FAC), the Board of Delaware State Chamber of Commerce (DSCC), the Delaware State University Board of Trustees, the CEO Council for Growth of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the Board of Directors of Christiana Health Care System, and other local civic vitality organizations, as well as being a founding member of Wilmington Leaders Alliance (WLA).

Mark is proud to have been shaped by a large, loving family and the hard-working, tight-knit immigrant neighborhoods of North Philadelphia. He enjoys running, triathlons, golf and reading. He considers himself fortunate to be married to the brilliant Regina Turner, VMD, PhD, and full professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Together they are raising two amazing teenage daughters.

Manoj Singh

Manoj Singh is one of Altimetrik’s strategic advisors. He is also a member of several public and private company boards, including DXC Technology, The Putnam Funds, and Abt Associates.

Additionally, Manoj is a Trustee at Carnegie Mellon University and a board member at Pratham USA, a nonprofit engaged in enhancing child literacy and education in India.

Manoj served as the Chief Operating Officer at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd (Deloitte Global) prior to his mandatory retirement in June of 2015. During his 36-year career with Deloitte, Manoj led Deloitte Consulting in the Americas and was the Asia Pacific Regional Managing Director and COO. He also served on the boards of directors of Deloitte firms in the U.S., China and Mexico.

Manoj has advised national and multinational companies on mergers and acquisitions, enterprise cost management and shareholder value growth, with a specific focus on technology, manufacturing and the energy industry. He also has extensive business development experience in emerging and developed markets such as Germany, China, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Manoj is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University and is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from both institutions. He is a frequent speaker on college campuses and has also appeared on Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, the regional World Economic Forum, and various print-media interviews and panels.

Manoj and his wife Rita have two married daughters and four grandchildren. They live in Short Hills, New Jersey, and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. They travel extensively around the world and have a great love for the outdoors, including hiking, tennis, golf and cricket.

George Zoghbi

George Zoghbi is a strategic advisor to Altimetrik. He also sits on the boards at The Kraft Heinz Company and Brambles Limited, the world’s most sustainable logistics business (listed on the ASX and headquartered in Sydney and London).

Most recently, George was the Chief Operating Officer of the U.S commercial business at Kraft Heinz, a position he held until October of 2017. He joined Kraft Foods Inc. in 2007 as a vice president leading the Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) region. He moved to the U.S. in 2009 as President of the Cheese and Dairy business, held other senior leadership roles, and ultimately was named Chief Operating Officer of Kraft Foods Group in February, 2015.

During his tenure at Kraft (and Kraft Heinz), George successfully led the business turnaround in the Australia & New Zealand region, put the North American Cheese and Dairy business on a sustainable growth trajectory, and played a key role in the merger of the Kraft and Heinz businesses–delivering the 2015 deal’s synergies and building the commercial business units of the merged entities.

Before joining Kraft in 2007, George held positions of increasing responsibilities at Fonterra, the world’s largest exporter of dairy products. George led the integration of Fonterra’s Australia consumer business with two acquired companies, resulting in Fonterra’s pre-eminent leadership in its categories with iconic brands and strong market positions. He subsequently led a major global initiative to significantly accelerate the growth of Fonterra’s Foodservices global quick-service restaurant business in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. By building a strong global leadership team, launching innovation centers in Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melbourne, Australia, and executing a focused strategy, George doubled the size of the business in less than three years.

After selling his own small business in 1993, George worked at George Weston Foods, Australia, in various positions of increasing responsibilities.

George holds a Master’s Degree of Enterprise from the University of Melbourne and a diploma in business (marketing) from the Chisholm Institute in Australia. He has also completed a number of executive programs, including the Accelerated Development Programme at the London Business School in the United Kingdom.