Some new business people kick off their careers with a confident, climb-the-corporate-ladder mentality. Not Rajan Krishnamurty. In his first job as a junior engineer, his performance could best be described as passive rather than proactive.

"I was just delirious about getting a job and making $1,500 a month," says Krishnamurty, now CTO of The Cobalt Group. Interviewed on "Information Technology Leaders," he describes his younger self as content with the work he was given, oblivious to the big picture. But with time, that would change. A master's degree, management experience, and a plumb promotion later, he went head-to-head with his boss over a business decision and emerged in a stronger position. "Information Technology Leaders," produced by the University of Washington’s School of Business, presents multi-faceted portraits of the people filling the top IT positions at major corporations such as Microsoft, Boeing, and AT&T Wireless Services. The revealing interviews show that personal characteristics often play an important role in the unpredictable career trajectories of this industry.

Born and raised in northeast India, Krishnamurty developed his adaptability through frequent relocations the family endured as part of his father's government job. Then Krishnamurty changed cultures. His parents had already emigrated to the United States when, one summer, the third-year college student came to Texas with one bag for a visit and simply never went back. He finished his degree in electrical engineering at the University of Houston.

After graduation, Krishnamurty signed up with the world-renown computer giant, IBM. Though his first job working on hardware wasn't a stellar start, he didn't blame the company. Instead he juggled his job and a graduate program in electrical engineering. It took him four years, but after completing the degree he found himself on an upward path, starting with a move to the software side. He also developed three patents, which he shrugs off as just part of the job.

Next Krishnamurty became a manager of the diagnostics and operations area. "I was just thrown in there and had to do it," he recalls. But he certainly did something right--he had made a list of high-potential employees. Soon he was offered a coveted one-year job as executive assistant to the division president, based in New York. It gave Krishnamurty entrée to the executive realm where he learned about personnel issues and the overall business strategy.

Back in Texas, he led the Graphics, Hardware, and Software Development division. Previously he had managed 10 people; now nearly 200 employees on multiple levels reported to him. It was a difficult transition. "The initial tendency is to want to do it yourself," he says. "Now you've got to work through others and their styles and capabilities, and know when to work with them and correct their behavior as opposed to trying to fix the root problem yourself."

The event that proved how far Krishnamurty had come from the shy junior engineer was a disagreement with his boss that prompted him to leave his team. "You and your manager have to be philosophically in the same orbit," he explains. "If you're not in the same orbit, it's really difficult to have a trusting relationship." For Krishnamurty, the showdown had a favorable result: he was given the chance to build a new team from scratch to work on software emulation technologies. IBM continued to offer him satisfying opportunities, including a stint working in a software division back in Banglore, India. But after 20 years, Krishnamurty made the tough decision to leave. "I felt I was too far away from being able to make a direct impact on the company," he says.

His first post-IBM job, at Pearl Systems in London, was a miss; his next, a hit. The Cobalt Group, says Krishnamurty, "was a company that needed molding." The Seattle-based company providing e-business services to the automotive industry had a young, talented team and great growth potential. Within days of contacting the founders, Krishnamurty was on a plane to the Pacific Northwest.

As chief technology officer, Krishnamurty is responsible for all the technology deliverables, including strategy, products, and professional services. He had helped the company take a leading role in a new industry and develop a strong business model. Although the corporate culture is different at Cobalt than what he'd previously known, Krishnamurty finds that on the management side it's business as usual: "The fundamental principles of motivating people aren't any different, whether you're at IBM or Cobalt."

Krishnamurty has fashioned himself as a calm, analytical leader who doesn't lose his cool even in the most stressful situations. But the toys and puzzles on his desk betray his fun side. And he allows some blending of his professional and personal lives when once a month his wife brings in a home-cooked Indian lunch for his staff.

Calling the last three years at Cobalt the "best years of my professional career," Krishnamurty is energized by the shift from manager at a megacompany to mentor of a new enterprise. He's proven that he can conquer different cultures-geographic cultures as well as those of the business world.

Produced By: Christopher Redner

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