TECHNOLOGY
42
T here aren ’ t many CEOs that can look back on as eclectic a career as Vinod Muthukrishnan , the man at the helm of consumer experience startup CloudCherry . From nine years in the Merchant Navy , where he served as a navigation officer , he pivoted to Market Simplified , a fintech startup providing mobile solutions to financial institutions worldwide . He founded CloudCherry in 2014 , which has since grown into a disruptive , Cisco-backed customer experience management company . CloudCherry is based in Salt Lake City , Utah , with offices in Singapore , Dubai , Bengaluru and Chennai .
Muthukrishnan , reflecting on the challenges and benefits of moving from sector to sector , notes that “ a fresh perspective shows you things that being stuck in the weeds for the last six months doesn ’ t .” Conversely , “ there ’ s nothing that compensates for a deep awareness of a domain ,” he says . “ Every time I ’ ve been in an alien environment , I ’ ve done two things : initially , I have taken a first principles approach to the problem . Then I surround myself with people who know that domain really well .” The combination of expert advice and fresh eyes is , he maintains , a winning strategy . “ It gives you an advantage because you ’ re not weighed down by the baggage you accumulate when you ’ ve been in a domain for 20 years .” In retrospect , he says : “ I ’ ve always
APRIL 2019