May is Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi and Asian American Heritage Month. Throughout the month, The Daily will highlight members of the university community who are of Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi and Asian American heritage to celebrate their accomplishments as members of the campus community and shed light on their experiences at Case Western Reserve University.
During his Master of Business Administration program at Weatherhead School of Management, Srinivas Rao (MGT '99) interned at a technology startup in Silicon Valley. He credits that experience for kick-starting his career—and giving him exposure to the then new wave of internet companies.
After receiving his MBA, Rao worked for a technology startup once again in Silicon Valley, and then went on to join Amazon as a senior product manager in 2005.
“Based on the solid foundation [I received at CWRU], I have been fortunate enough to have different experiences that allowed me to develop my general management skills in startups—and now at Amazon over the last 17 years in various roles,” Rao explained.
Now, Rao, who is president of CWRU’s Alumni Association Board of Directors, manages payments for Amazon’s Consumer Division in emerging countries across Latin America, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. The product- and technology-management role requires him to collaborate with team members spread across 13 countries.