LatentView Advisory Council Q&A | Raj Menon

Raj Menon is a global manufacturing and operations executive with more than 30 years of experience in industrials and manufacturing, most recently serving as an executive and president at Helios Technologies. Raj will join LatentView’s advisory council to provide expert guidance to LatentView’s executives in areas such as supply chain, logistics and general management.

We spoke with Raj to learn more about his experience and his plans for working with LatentView Analytics.

1. Tell us a bit about your background (experience, expertise, recent/current role, and company/industry).

I began my career after receiving my Master's degree in industrial engineering and completing the Program Management Development at Harvard Business School. Following my education, I spent 26 years working with Cummins, a large industrial manufacturer of power equipment. During this time, I worked in general management, product development, logistics and supply chain and served as the president of one of the company’s distribution divisions. I have also worked in private equity with a private industrialist

Most recently, I worked as an executive with the public company Helios Technologies as the president of one of its divisions. When I left Helios Technologies, I decided that rather than focusing on the day-to-day operations of a company, I wanted to prioritize serving in an advisory role whether that be as a board member or as a consultant. I longed to create solutions for a variety of business problems and truly expand my portfolio, and ultimately this is what led me to LatentView Analytics.

2. What makes LatentView Analytics' mission meaningful to you?

I realized very early on in my career that data enables executives to make strategic decisions instead of relying on hunches and assumptions. It is no surprise that the amount of data collected over recent years has grown exponentially. But outside of evaluating averages or means, business leaders are unsure of how to use this data to their advantage to uncover important insights.

LatentView is able to help clients in extracting valuable insights from piles of data to impact decision-making at scale. LatentView’s mission is to excel in the digital world by harnessing the power of data and analytics. And to me, truly honoring the power of data and analytics not only allows us to excel in a digital world but the world in general.

When I consider industries such as retail, financial services, technology, media and entertainment, travel, etc., I have realized that all of these sectors can benefit from the smart capture and analysis of data. I think we are on the cusp of a data usage revolution, and LatentView is a forerunner in developing solutions designed to enable the strategic use of data to drive business goals.

3. What do you most want to get out of being involved with LatentView’s Advisory Council?

Throughout my career, I have always been curious about how data can be used to make improvements not only at a micro level but also at a macro level for companies. Working with LatentView will provide me with an opportunity to explore this at a deeper level.

Using data in a smart and strategic way can be applied to every aspect of operating a company. Leveraging the intersection of my experience and domain expertise and combining that with the capability of LatentView, I’m hopeful that I can empower LatentView’s executives and its clients to accelerate the use of technology to create benefits not only for businesses but society as well.

4. What do you believe you are best equipped to contribute in your role as an advisor?

Other than my diverse background working in global enterprises and serving in several different roles, I believe what distinguishes me is my passion for using data and analytics to drive decisions and impact businesses. I absolutely love math, and I have always had a strong desire to continuously learn and leverage my knowledge and passion to impact something bigger than myself. This is what I bring to LatentView and its clients.

5. What was the most pivotal part of your career so far?

I have been extremely fortunate in my career in having the opportunity to perform many different roles and learn something new at every step. Because of this, there has not been any one pivotal moment but rather a course of continuous learning.

Through this journey, I think one of the most meaningful moments has been my recent transition to a non-executive role. I have traditionally worked with teams, so working on my own and with an outside perspective has been a great learning experience. However, these roles have made me realize that all ideas have significant value, and encouraging others to share ideas and leverage their experience and knowledge has been empowering.

6. How do you think today's business climate is affecting the way companies scale and what are some top challenges facing modern enterprises?

I have seen major shifts in the business environment that are unpredictable and brand new to many business leaders, and these are happening at an extremely fast pace. In many ways, I don’t think that businesses are creating solutions and enacting change at a fast enough pace. For example, if we think about supply chain issues and how they have impacted nearly all industries at some level, it has highlighted the importance of leveraging technology in new ways to solve these issues.

The past several years have demonstrated that turbulence can occur for a variety of reasons, and its effects can be detrimental to our way of life and our way of doing business. I think that in order to confront these challenges, we have to be strategic in business decision-making processes and rely on data to drive results.