Source: Byron Jones, 785-532-5844, jones@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Mary Rankin, 785-532-6715, mrankin@k-state.edu
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009
GLOBAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE TO SPEAK AT K-STATE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING'S EYESTONE LECTURE
MANHATTAN -- Raj Nathan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Worldwide Marketing and Business Solutions Operations, will present "Being an Entrepreneur in an Established Company -- Not an Oxymoron" at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in Kansas State University's Fiedler Hall Auditorium.
The event is a part of the K-State College of Engineering Eyestone Lecture Series and is open to the public.
Challenging the prevalent assumption that innovation, entrepreneurship and risk taking are the sole domain of small start-ups, Nathan, from personal experience and the innovation record of established companies, will articulate why this view is biased and restrictive. He also will highlight the value of a sound education and the required values needed to succeed in the professional world.
At Worldwide Marketing and Business Solutions Operations, Nathan is responsible for all marketing initiatives for Sybase, the sixth-largest software company in the world, and its subsidiaries, Sybase iAnywhere and Sybase 365. In this role, he leads a global marketing organization setting Sybase's technology direction and go-to-market initiatives.
Prior to his current position, Nathan served as senior vice president of Sybase's Information Technology Solutions Group. His work experience has taken him around the globe and has run the gamut from hardware to software and from large companies to small, including Unisys and Siemens Pyramid.
Before entering private industry, Nathan taught four years in the department of industrial engineering at K-State, where he initiated a new program in manufacturing and systems engineering and started an advanced systems institute. During this time, he was awarded the prestigious James L. Hollis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and named the Steel Ring adviser of the year.
Nathan earned his doctorate and master's from Iowa State University in industrial engineering, as well as a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Madras in India.
The Eyestone Lecture Series, established in 2000, is funded by an endowment of the late Fred and Mona Eyestone. Fred Eyestone, a 1941 K-State graduate in electrical engineering, was a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council and a Distinguished Service Award recipient.
