Raghu Raghuram

Raghu Raghuram
Name	Raghu Raghuram
Birth date	1965
Birth place	Pune, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (B.Tech), University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (MBA)
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	CEO of VMware (2021–2023)
Title	Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Inc.
Predecessor	Hock Tan
Spouse	Sangita Raghuram

Raghu Raghuram is an Indian-American business executive who served as the chief executive officer of VMware from 2021 until its acquisition by Broadcom Inc. in 2023. He is a veteran of the cloud computing and virtualization industry, having spent over two decades at VMware in various leadership roles, where he was instrumental in shaping the company's strategy and product portfolio. Following the completion of the acquisition, Raghuram was appointed to lead the newly formed VMware division within Broadcom.

Early life and education

Raghuram was born in Pune, India, and completed his secondary education in the city. He earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in electrical engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He subsequently moved to the United States, where he obtained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. His early professional experience included roles at Netscape and Bang Networks, where he worked on early internet infrastructure and web services.

Career at VMware

Raghuram joined VMware in 2003, a pivotal time as the company was becoming a leader in server virtualization technology. He initially led product management and marketing for ESX Server, the company's flagship hypervisor. Over the years, he held several key positions, including senior vice president of the Cloud Infrastructure and Management business group, where he oversaw the development of core products like vSphere and vCenter. He played a central role in VMware's strategic pivot towards software-defined data center, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud architectures, helping to launch major initiatives such as the VMware Cloud Foundation platform and partnerships with public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

CEO of VMware

Raghuram was appointed chief executive officer of VMware in June 2021, succeeding Pat Gelsinger, who left to become CEO of Intel. His tenure was marked by navigating the company through the final stages of its spin-off from Dell Technologies and steering its strategy towards a comprehensive multi-cloud services platform. A major focus was deepening integrations across the VMware portfolio and expanding the company's Kubernetes and modern application offerings through products like Tanzu. His leadership culminated in overseeing the $61 billion acquisition of VMware by Broadcom Inc., a deal announced in May 2022 and completed in November 2023 after receiving regulatory approvals from entities like the European Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority.

Post-VMware activities

Following the completion of the acquisition by Broadcom Inc. in late 2023, Raghuram was named chief executive officer of the newly formed VMware division within Broadcom. In this role, he reports directly to Broadcom CEO Hock Tan and is responsible for integrating the VMware business units and product lines into Broadcom's organization. He also serves on the board of directors for Databricks, a leading enterprise data analytics and artificial intelligence company.

Awards and recognition

Throughout his career, Raghuram has been recognized for his influence in the technology sector. He has been named to the Business Insider list of "Top 100 People Transforming Business" and has been featured in publications like CRN and The Economic Times. Under his leadership, VMware received numerous industry accolades, including recognition from Gartner, IDC, and Forrester Research for its leadership in cloud infrastructure and virtualization markets.

Personal life

Raghuram is married to Sangita Raghuram, and the couple has two children. He maintains a residence in Palo Alto, California, and is known to be an avid reader with interests in history and technology trends. He has been involved with philanthropic efforts, particularly in supporting educational initiatives in India and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:American chief executives Category:Indian Institute of Technology Bombay alumni Category:University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Category:VMware people Category:Businesspeople from Pune Category:Indian emigrants to the United States