Alumni Spotlight: Krishna Nadella
Krishna C. Nadella is a 2004 Penn State graduate of the Smeal College of Business, where he received his MBA in investment management & portfolio analysis and corporate financial analysis & planning. “[I work in] financial technology – I’m currently the America’s Head of Sales for portfolio valuations, regulatory solutions and new content for Bloomberg Enterprise Solutions. I run a team of around 20 specialists who service the financial community with solutions that satisfy the various aspects of financial services such as trading, portfolio management, risk, compliance and accounting,” says Nadella. His proudest accomplishment since the beginning of his career has been successfully building four separate specialist teams to launch four successful financial products around fixed income valuations, OTC derivative valuations, liquidity assessment and regulatory solutions.
Previous to his current position, he worked as director of the structure credit valuations specialists at Moody’s Analytics and he was the vice president of global structured credit products at Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. Krishna has found that the people in his life have been instrumental in his success. He highlights the Penn State family as one of the major reasons for where he is today, saying that Penn State is not just a place where you get a degree — it’s a place that serves as a support system, a family, and he has utilized this resource and tries to give back in any way he can. He specifically credited his mentor and PSU MBA Alum, Michael Strayhorn, for giving him words to live by. “You can’t make any mistakes with me. You’re a Penn Stater now and that makes us family. Don’t ever hesitate to ask me about anything, be its about school, work or life. If you ever need to talk, I’ll always be here.” In regard to his career journey, Krishna found himself working at Citibank in 2008 when the financial crisis hit. The financial crisis made him realize that he wanted to help the financial market and give back, which is what ultimately led him to Bloomberg.
Nadella’s favorite memory as a student came in 2002 when Larry Johnson reached a Penn State rushing record of 2,000 yards following a game where he scored four touchdowns to lead Penn State to victory against Michigan State, 61-7.
As a student, Nadella was extremely involved, taking part in professional activities like the Smeal MBA Finance Association and the Smeal Board of Visitors as a student representative, but also made time for leisurely activities like intramural flag football, swimming and running. The best advice he could have given to himself in college are put best in the words of Steve Jobs.
You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.
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