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Shekar Natarajan

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Shekar Natarajan
March 2024
Born
Chandrashekar Natarajan

(1979-07-23) July 23, 1979 (age 45)
Secunderabad, India
NationalityIndian-American
EducationJawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad
Georgia Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard Business School
Occupation(s)Supply chain executive, engineer, entrepreneur
Years active2000–present
Known forInnovations in logistics, automation, and supply chain management
SpouseHima Venkata (m. 2007)

Shekar Natarajan (born Chandrashekar Natarajan; July 23, 1979)[1] is an Indian-American supply chain executive and engineer. He is the founder and CEO of Orchestro AI.

Early life and education

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Natarajan was born in Secunderabad, India. He earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003.[2][3] He completed an Executive Certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics and an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.[2][4]

Career

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Natarajan began his career as a Corporate Development Specialist at Alliance Rubber Company, working on process optimization[5] before joining Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated as a Senior Supply Chain Network Manager.[5][3] In 2006, he became Director of Supply Chain Planning at PepsiCo[6][7] and later joined Anheuser-Busch as North American Senior Director of Supply Chain Planning.[2][8]

Natarajan joined The Walt Disney Company as Vice President of Business Process and Technology in 2013.[2][3] In 2014, he joined Walmart as Vice President of Last Mile & Emerging Sciences, where he worked on autonomous drone technology and supply chain automation.[9][10][11][12] In 2016, he became Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Operational Design at Target Corporation.[10][9][13][14]

Natarajan joined American Eagle Outfitters in 2018 as Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Logistics, and Services.[2][15][16][17][18] He was later promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer and served as President of Quiet Platforms, an AEO logistics subsidiary, before resigning in 2023.[19][20][21][22][23]

He has also served on the Corporate Board of Advisors for Cloudleaf, Inc., a company specializing in digital supply chain solutions, and as a member of the Technical Committee of the Project Production Institute (PPI).[24][4]

Natarajan is the founder and CEO of Orchestro AI, a company focused on integrating artificial intelligence into logistics and supply chain automation.[25][26]

Patents and research

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Natarajan has filed over 300 patent applications, with 50 patents issued, covering autonomous systems, AI-driven logistics, and supply chain automation.[3][4] His patents include developments in autonomous vehicles, predictive buying, and IoT-driven inventory management. His work on "CoolLift" technology focused on reducing workplace injuries and improving transportation efficiency. One of his patents, U.S. Patent 10733444 B2, was issued on August 4, 2020, for "Systems and Methods for Automated Assessment of Physical Objects," assigned to Walmart Apollo LLC.[27]

He co-authored the paper "Design Considerations for a Reusable Medical Database," presented at the 19th IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems in 2006, which examines reusable database components for medical imaging systems.[28]

Bibliography

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  • Natarajan, Chandrashekar, and Lee Hales. Simplified Systematic Network Planning - Six Steps to Effective Network Planning. VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K., (2008). ISBN 9783639025460.[29]

Awards and recognition

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  • The Most Impactful Business Leaders (2025)[30][26]
  • Top 30 Supply Chain Leaders of 2022 (Alcott Global)[31]
  • American Supply Chain Leadership Award (2021)
  • Visionary Award (2021)
  • Retail Innovator of the Year (2020)
  • Times Now NRI of the Year Award (2014)[32]
  • Medallion Award (Institute of Industrial Engineers, 2010)
  • Supply Chain Innovation Award (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, 2010)[5][33]
  • DC Velocity Rainmaker (2009)[33]

Selected patents

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References

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  1. ^ "What Does The Name Shekar Mean?". The Meaning of Names. Archived from the original on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Shekar Natarajan". Project Production Institute. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  3. ^ a b c d Trebilcock, Bob. "The SCMR Interview: Shekar Natarajan". Supply Chain 24/7. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  4. ^ a b c Collman, Laura (2018-12-12). "Shekar Natarajan of Cloudleaf Joins PPI Technical Committee". Project Production Institute. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  5. ^ a b c "Shekar Natarajan -- Expert". Material Handling and Logistics. 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  6. ^ "ProsFile: Shekar Natarajan". Supply & Demand Chain Executive. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  7. ^ "Shekar Natarajan, Director, Supply Chain, Pepsi Bottling Group | SupplyChainBrain". www.supplychainbrain.com. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  8. ^ "Shekar Natarajan". Supply & Demand Chain Executive. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  9. ^ a b "Target Hires Walmart Supply Chain Executive". Supply Chain 24/7. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  10. ^ a b trans.info. "Shekar Natarajan on leading transformation and redefining the logistics sector". trans.info. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  11. ^ Abrams, Rachel (2016-06-02). "Walmart Looks to Drones to Speed Distribution". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  12. ^ "Wal-Mart says it is 6-9 months from using drones to check warehouse inventory".
  13. ^ "Target hires Walmart's Shekar Natarajan as SVP Network Planning". India Retailing. 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  14. ^ Taylor, Glenn (2016-11-10). "Target Hauls In Walmart Exec To Enhance Supply Chain Network". Retail TouchPoints. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  15. ^ "Shekar Natarajan, AMP EVP – Chief Supply Chain Officer American Eagle Outfitters". DiversityMBA. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  16. ^ Staff, Rivet (2022-10-04). "Shekar Natarajan". Sourcing Journal. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  17. ^ Clark, Evan (2022-03-18). "American Eagle-led Logistics Revolution That's Taking On Amazon". WWD. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  18. ^ "How American Eagle Reinvented Its Fulfillment Strategy". Harvard Business Review. 2022-11-07. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  19. ^ "Next Gen Supply Chain Conference Advisory Board" (PDF).
  20. ^ "Speaker Details: Sourcing Journal Fall Summit". www.events.sourcingjournal.com. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  21. ^ "Quiet Platforms head departs as American Eagle's logistics arm struggles". Retail Dive. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  22. ^ Cosgrove, Emma. "The head of American Eagle's logistics subsidiary is out. Read the internal memo to staff". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  23. ^ Solomon, Mark (2023-04-04). "Quiet Platforms president leaves company". FreightWaves. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  24. ^ "Cloudleaf Board of Advisors Adds Shekar Natarajan, One of Supply Chain Management's Foremost Thought Leaders". Businesswire.
  25. ^ "Shekar Natarajan: Driving Logistics Industry Transformation with Vertical AI Innovation". 2025-01-13. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  26. ^ a b "The Most Impactful Business Leaders To Follow in Supply Chain, 2025 (1) by Insights Success Media - Issuu". issuu.com. 2025-01-17. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  27. ^ "PATENTS AWARDED | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette". www.nwaonline.com. 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  28. ^ Chandrashekar, N.; Gautam, S.M.; Srinivas, K.S.; Vijayananda, J. (July 2006). "Design Considerations for a Reusable Medical Database". 19th IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS'06): 69–74. doi:10.1109/CBMS.2006.72.
  29. ^ "Books by Chandrashekar Natarajan".
  30. ^ "The Most Impactful Business Leader To Follow in Supply Chain, 2025 January2025 by Insights Success Media - Issuu". issuu.com. 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  31. ^ "TOP 30 Supply Chain Winners". Leaders in Supply Chain Awards. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  32. ^ "Zubin Mehta gets special jury award at Times Now NRI awards". The Times of India. 2014-03-30. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
  33. ^ a b "The pragmatic futurist: interview with Shekar Natarajan | 2018-03-23 | DC Velocity". www.dcvelocity.com. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
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