1 of 3

Thirukumar Vethanayagam Ph.D. MBA www.linkedin.com/in/thirukumarvethanayagam/

Chester Springs, PA 19425 (406) 220-3674 thiruvetha@gmail.com
Engineering / R&D / Manufacturing / Operations / Program Management Executive || Electronics
Visionary, Balanced, Ethical, Impact-driven, Entrepreneurial, Innovative, Persistent
Unique combination of collaborative leadership, technical expertise, and business acumen. International
experience in diverse industries and technologies. History of managing cultural diversity, resolving tough
engineering problems, transferring technologies, developing manufacturing processes, orchestrating major non-IT
projects, cutting costs, and enhancing customer confidence. Expert in focusing R&D efforts to bring new and
profitable products to market. Holder of two patents.
Core Competencies: Recruiting, motivating, mentoring, and creating large world-class multi-level operations.
Aligning individuals and teams to global initiatives with a high sense of urgency. Analyzing complex business
challenges and developing custom solutions. Fostering an environment of passion and creativity. Building in
reliability to increase qualification success rate. Excellent profit making and administrative skills.

EXPERIENCE AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Bloom Energy, Mumbai, June 2010 February 2014. $600M OEM of fuel cell based energy server.
Reporting to CTO, developed a comprehensive business case and master-minded the rapid 5X growth in two
years. Managed a team of 100+ across 12 functions, 60+ testers in 30,000 sq. ft. facility, 24x7 hazardous gas
operations, and Annual Capital Expenditure > $2M & Operational Expenditure > $3M.
General Manager - Mumbai Operations.
Transformed from service to R&D center driving continuous improvement through policies and procedures.
Partnered with internal functional stakeholders in US, developed middle-management, and mentored leaders.
Transferred technology both ways: characterization tools, test standards, processes and subsystems.
Instituted program management team ensuring proper alignment of objectives, resource allocations, task
closures, RFQ and POR tracking, risk management, and recognition.
Established safe and productive work environment with performance metrics, daily work schedules, periodic
equipment maintenance, quality control, safety walk-through, and inventory management.
Cypress Semiconductor, Bangalore, October 2005 May 2010. $1B ODM of memory and networking ICs.
Recognized opportunities, proposed plans, and received grants. Hired 80+ Electronic Engineers and incubated five
departments; $5M annual savings in manpower alone.
Program Management Office Director, 2008 2010.
Provided oversight for $10M NPD investments worldwide on three product lines: USB, Memory, and
Programmable System on Chip (PSoC).
Guided eight program managers in stage-gate process, scope negotiation, schedule development, critical path
management, risks mitigation, budget control, and weekly presentations to the CEO.
Applications Engineering Director, 2007 2008.
Directed 30+ in embedded hardware and firmware development for wireless, touch screen, and other
microcontroller-based applications, enabling 3X business growth from $15M to $55M / quarter.
Instituted a highly talented 24x7 technical services team, providing customized answers to complex queries on
Capsense, USB, Wireless and PSoC.
Conducted customer training workshops and promoted technology nationwide.
Product Engineering Senior Manager, 2005 2007.
Reduced product qualification time by 50% to three months separating out Product and Test Engineering roles.
Revamped PC clock Product & Test Engineering in three quarters, enabling divesture to Spectra Linear.
Kumars Resume
2 of 3
Guardian Industries, Michigan, January 2004 September 2005. $4.5B manufacturer of flat glass products.
Improved productivity of DLC 400% creating $10M market opportunity in automotive and building industries.
Technical Fellow.
Gained thorough understanding of linear ion beam and magnetron sputtering technologies.
Evaluated process and hardware effects. Identified and implemented critical changes on production lines.
Optimized to DIN Standard heat-treatable, scratch-resistant, and low-maintenance shower-door products.
JDS Uniphase, New Jersey, January 2001 August 2003. $3.6B ODM of optoelectronic devices & modules.
Got promoted rapidly through positions of increasing authority during economic downturn.
Program Manager, 2001 2003.
For six months contractual obligations for undersea receivers could not be met. Assumed control of program,
and within two months improved quality and restored customer confidence; saving $12M contract with ASN.
Revitalized a 26-member multi-discipline 10 Gb/s MEMS VOA receiver team. Resolved fundamental design
issue and cleared R&D backlog in two weeks; saving $2M contract with Marconi, Italy. Also piloted the launch.
Process Engineering Technical Manager II, 2002 2003.
Implemented DFM, SPC, robustness checklist, and custom-designed SIR approach (Simplify, Integrate,
Remove). Contributed efficiently with 10 engineers to three NPD teams and 10+ Lean packaging operations.
Reliability Engineering Technical Manager, 2001 2002.
Revamped reliability department. Introduced DFMEA and building in reliability approach. Managed budgets
to $1.2M with 20+ chambers and 13 staff.
Identified parallel leakage due to presence of moisture in TL packaging cans as root cause for the false R&R
failures of InP-based wafers. Changed lids and eliminated failures; saving $500K in chip cost alone annually.
Corning Incorporated, New York, March 1990 January 2001, $4B Fortune 500 supplier of hi-tech products.
Gained hands-on experience in commercial, engineering, manufacturing, product development, and project
management in multiple industries such as telecommunication, automotive, petrochemical, and photonics.
Project Manager, 2000 2001.
Led many key projects: WDM raw material requirements, 100 GHz DWDM SiO-process optimization, 25dB
VOA development, and a 30-member two-week crisis effort averting $10M loss per month.
Technical Lead, 1998 1999.
Led a 25-member high temperature coatings team. Established process, test and operations groups with 13
staff and $1.2M budget. Manufactured 10-foot glass-coated steel pipes for $2M field trial with Amoco.
Project Engineer, 1996 1998.
Instituted three-prong die management strategy to isolate the effects of CVD coating, raw materials, and
extrusion process, and introduced strip & recoat procedure saving $300K annually.
Shift Supervisor, 1994 1996.
Supervised 10 union workers improving morale, productivity, and facility.
Senior Product Engineer, 1990 1994.
Introduced a custom concept (FCP) separating fitness-for-use from compliance and perception requirements.
Qualification time was reduced to three months. Represented in TIA Standards Working Group meetings.

EDUCATION
MBA, Syracuse University, January 1996 December 1999.
Research Fellow, Alfred University, January 1988 March 1990.
Ph.D., Ceramics, Alfred University, September 1983 December 1987.
M.Tech. Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, September 1981 August 1983.
B.Tech. Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, August 1976 May 1981.
Kumars Resume
3 of 3
ASSOCIATIONS
Elected Member of the Board of Directors, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, November 2009 July 2014.
Elected to represent the Technology sector. TMB is a private community bank with $10B annual turnover.
https://www.tmbnet.in/
Member of Education Advisory Board, Nitti Meenakshi Institute of Technology, August 2007 July 2008.
Served as one of the two technology members on the Electronics and Communications Engineering
Department Education Advisory Board.
http://www.nmit.ac.in/
President and Co-founder, Overseas Friends of UESI, May 2000 November 2005.
OFUESI is an extended arm of an Indian student organization established in 1954.
http://ofuesi.com/

PATENTS
"Process for preparing a durable glass composition", W. G. LaCourse, S. T. Lin and T. K. Vethanayagam,
Patent No. 5,215,563, United States Department of Commerce, June 1, 1993.
"Optical Receiver with High Dynamic Range", Y. Soskind and T. K. Vethanayagam, U.S. Patent Application
No. 60/360,937, Submitted March 1, 2002.

PUBLICATIONS
"The role of thermal analysis in sintered metals and ceramics production", T. K. Vethanayagam and G. S.
Upadhyaya, The Metallurgist and Materials Technologist, 1982, 511.
"Inductively-coupled plasma nitriding of fused silica", T. K. Vethanayagam and P. F. Johnson, Materials
Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 1987, 293.
"Atmospheric plasma vapor deposition of Ba-Y-Cu-Oxide and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-Oxide thin films", T. K.
Vethanayagam, R. L. Snyder and J. A. L. Taylor, in Thermal Spray Technology - New ideas and processes,
ed. D. L. Houck, ASM International, Ohio, 1989, 233.
"Inductance technique for measuring transition temperatures of superconducting powders", T. K.
Vethanayagam, J. A. L. Taylor and R. L. Snyder, International Journal of Modern Physics B, 1989.
"Mechanical hardness and chemical durability of plasma nitrided amorphous silica", T. K. Vethanayagam and
P. F. Johnson, Glass Technology, 1989, 179.
"An experimental study of making magnetite superconcentrate blocks and their reduction by solid
reductants", T. K. Vethanayagam and R. K. Dube, Journal of Iron and Steel Institute of Japan International,
1989, 580.
"Reactivity of ceramic superconductors with palladium alloys", J. L. Porter, T. K. Vethanayagam, R. L. Snyder
and J. A. L. Taylor, Journal of American Ceramic Society, 1990.
"Incorporation of nitrogen into amorphous silica using a low-pressure plasma", T. K. Vethanayagam and P. F.
Johnson, Journal of Non-Cryst. Solids, 1990, 100.
"Mechanical performance and reliability of Corning Titan SMF CPC5 fiber after exposure to a variety of
environments", T. K. Vethanayagam, B. A. Linchuck, J. R. Toler. L. G. Amos and D. L. Taylor, SPIE Fiber
Optics reliability: Benign and Adverse Environments IV, 1990, 343.
"Noble metal and spinel deposition on the floor of the joule-heated ceramic melter", V. Jain, S. M. Barnes, T.
K. Vethanayagam and L. D. Pye, Journal of Am. Cer. Soc., 1991.
"Making optical fibers behave: Mechanical performance after environmental exposure", S. M. Robinson, D. J.
Eccleston and T. K. Vethanayagam, National Fiber Optic Engg. Conference, 1991
"Wear resistance of optical fiber coatings using modified falling sand tester", T. K. Vethanayagam, J. L. Smith
and D. L. Taylor, Proc. of the 40th International Wire and Cable Symposium, 1991.