Professional Achievement Award

Rajesh Vashist, Grad ’84
Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Rajesh believes in the power of innovation – in technology, business, and culture. He believes that all three factors are required, and they must be in balance for a company to grow and prosper over decades. He also believes that one way to make the world a better place is to provide the people in his company an environment where they can become the best version of themselves.

Originally from India, Rajesh came to Marquette as an MBA student in 1981 after completing his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Regional Engineering College in Rourkela, India. In 1984, he drove across country to Silicon Valley during one of the early tech booms, where he found his first job in a semiconductor company. The dynamism and growth in the Bay Area led him to join four tech startups, founding one company and leading another pre-revenue, both as CEO. As luck would have it, the first company was founded in the boom of 1999, almost collapsed in the bust of 2001, and went public in 2005 with a successful outcome for all investors. Similarly, the second company was struggling in the middle of the Great Recession in 2008 and is now the world leader in timing chips and listed on the Nasdaq with a market value of several billion.

He continues to be grateful for the support and guidance of his teachers and professors in India and the U.S. who helped him get to this point.

Leave a congratulatory message for Rajesh!