Raja Ramachandran
- CFO
- Richmond Metro
- Virginia Beach
Raja has over 30 years of experience in leadership, finance and operations in multiple industries. He has in-depth knowledge of financial planning & analysis (FP&A), pricing, business development and exit strategies. Combining both engineering and finance education and experience, Raja has a strong ability to integrate across the value chain of an organization to improve financial results. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), earned through the Exit Planning Institute.
Before FocusCFO
Raja started his career as an engineer in the chemical industry and then transitioned to multiple commercial roles in the energy industry, agriculture and health care distribution. He has over ten years of experience in FP&A leadership roles.
He holds a B.S in Chemical Engineering (University of Alabama), MBA (Louisiana State University) and M.S. in Finance (University of Houston). In addition, he is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Corporate Planning & Analyst and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).
- Who is your favorite musical artist? I'm a huge fan of the band U2 and am in awe that they have been together as a band since 1976. I drive my family nuts on long driving trips because I blast U2 songs for hours! Fortunately, I (usually) don't sing along.
- What are you passionate about? I am very passionate about the well-being of children and helping kids in any way possible. There's no greater joy than seeing a happy child and hearing their laughter.
- What is your favorite movie? The Hunt for Red October, based on the Tom Clancy book. In addition to being an intricate and thrilling movie, my favorite quote stems from it. "When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result, his men were well motivated." This reminds me to always move forward even in uncertainty.
Other Interests
What attracted you
to FocusCFO?
It is a privilege to partner with entrepreneurs / business owners of small and midsize companies. Put simply, I want to help these risk takers to increase the value of their firms and exceed in their goals. I am also thrilled to be part of the incredible FocusCFO team and share in the purpose of helping businesses thrive.