Product Leader | GM | Board Member | Ex-Apple, Amazon
Vasanthi Chandra is a high-growth strategist and innovative product leader who has been at the forefront of technological, business, and cultural transformation for some of the world’s most recognized industry-defining brands. Most recently as GM at Amazon, Vasanthi founded a new division enabling Amazon’s entry into the low-code no-code global market set to soar to $46 billion by 2025. At Covad Communications Group, as Vice President of Products, she led market development for Wireless and Triple Play. Prior to that, Vasanthi led Knight Ridder’s digital transformation from a traditional newspaper company to a multi-product digital company. Earlier in her career, Vasanthi spearheaded Apple’s market disruption with the delivery of their first PowerMac series and FireWire Technology.
As a well-respected thought leader, Vasanthi has over 12 years of board and advisory experience serving for-profit and non-profit sectors. She currently sits on the Board of Advisors of Valley Growth Ventures venture firm. She is also an advisor to C-suite technology executives across a range of industries and sectors including HealthTech, Edtech, eCommerce and Autonomous Vehicles. Vasanthi previously served on the boards of Ahalogy Inc. (acquired by Quotient Technology) and RewardsPay Inc. In addition, she served on the board of YWCA and MindBodyMoms, a nonprofit offering mindfulness-based wellness programs to underserved mothers.
Through mentorship, education and support, Vasanthi has dedicated her professional life to fostering the self-reliance and achievement of young girls and women advancing through their education and careers. Formative childhood experiences fleeing militants in her homeland, and residing in many countries on four continents give her a deep understanding not only of cultural and regional diversity but of what it takes to overcome adversity with resilience. Vasanthi holds degrees in Physics and Computer Science (Smith College), a graduate degree in Computer Engineering (Dartmouth), and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
