A native of India, Aruna Mathuranayagam came to the United States to study engineering — a beginning that later broadened into deep dives into business, technology and government.
Her current role as vice president of growth for Leidos converges her previous paths as an engineer, solutions architect and portfolio manager into a unified growth focus.
“Each step in my career really built toward this role and gave me a broader perspective,” she explained. “I also love capturing new work and winning. Sometimes there is a stigma about BD professionals, but I’m a technologist at heart and I strive to enable growth powered by technology.”
A long-time tech “nerd,” her curiosity brought her from an era of programming in COBOL and Fortran into the AI-centric platforms of today. Now, she helps organizations anticipate needs years down the line and devise strategies to solve customers’ mission priorities. She also brings two decades of GovCon experience including work with systems now considered legacy.
A different kind of BD professional
Mathuranayagam has always been an avid student. From a young age, she enjoyed learning about inventors, studying new ideas and admiring change that improves lives.
Her career has taken her deep into some of the most pivotal missions of the last two decades. During the shift to remote work that accelerated through the COVID-19 pandemic, Mathuranayagam worked with the Energy Department and other federal clients to help them along their zero-trust journeys.
In her current role, Mathuranayagam supports all of Leidos’ federal civilian customers across multiple agencies, including the State Department.
“They are all facing similar problems — how to maintain and operate their current systems, how to serve the American public, how to keep us safe, how to do that with a minimal budget, and how to investigate and invest in technologies that enable them to move faster and attain their outcomes,” she said.
Few business development professionals have experience as chief technology officers. Mathuranayagam does.
“I’ve always loved technology,” she said. “I loved capturing new work, because I liked interacting with the frontline customers, understanding what their problems were and how we can solve them – this is what led me into growth and strategy,” she explained.
Her background allows her to work with customers on a deeper level, whether discussing how budgets strain priorities, addressing technical debt, or navigating shifting executive orders while trying to meet their missions.
Supporting effective change
Leidos combines engineering, mission knowledge and repeatable commercial-like capabilities to deliver the outcomes customers want, working with a vast network of vendor partners and OEMs to address challenges holistically, she said.
She also takes a collaborative approach in which Leidos’ subject matter experts work with customers to determine a path forward. Modernization without disruption is a key differentiator Leidos takes to every job, she added.
“If we can provide the maximum modernization without disrupting the current mission for the most return on investment, that’s the ideal situation for the customer,” she said.
That includes avoiding introducing unnecessary complexity.
“I like to move really fast while solving a lot of problems,” she said. “Those are the things I emphasize with my team and those are the things I hear from our leaders.”
Mainframe modernization and navigating reliance on legacy code are two areas where Mathuranayagam is partnering with customers. Modernizing complex systems includes moving from on-prem to cloud and migrating away from mainframe.
Leidos partners with customers like the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security to enable their modernization initiatives.
“We have a lot of missions that are a priority now,” she said.
Mathuranayagam said it all goes back to supporting the agencies serving the American public.
“There is always AI to consider, but if you don’t know how to infuse AI within an existing legacy environment, you’re just talking about AI and creating more work,” she said. “We ask what does AI really mean for a customer in their environment, and how can we bring meaningful AI insertions and meet them where they are to accelerate their current process to remove monotony while helping them improve and accelerate the mission delivery and mission outcomes.”
Up close
Mathuranayagam has many friends who are veterans and have served in multiple missions. The work connects for her on a personal level.
“Supporting the government requires you to put in as many hours as the mission requires, and we all sit in the room and sometimes we go late into the evening,” she said. “We enjoy dinner together while working. They share real war stories. I have great respect for my friends who have served and been in theater. They shape the course of my mission support and how disruption to the mission is really not acceptable.”
Mentors and sponsors make a huge difference in one’s career, she added. She specifically seeks out mentors who are technologically savvy, have access to broad data and take a strategic approach.
“I still have a Rolodex of people I call on to ask questions or solve problems or just run ideas by,” Mathuranayagam said. “They are invaluable to me.”
Outside of work, Mathuranayagam enjoys being outdoors and loves high-altitude hiking — a way to recharge and return to work with fresh perspective.
