Hello, I’m Dr. Raj Sethuraman

My father was an ex-serviceman (army veteran) in India and fought for the British during World War II in the 1940s. Hence I joined Sainik (military) school on a scholarship for my high school. I then continued to complete my chemical engineering degree at the National Institute of Technology and an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management, where I specialized in marketing and operations research. Because of my undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and my graduate degree in marketing, I decided to combine the two at my workplace. So I joined an affiliate of Exxon Chemicals as a sales and marketing officer. After working for over three years, the opportunity to work with the legendary marketing guru Philip Kotler drew me to Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago, where I completed my Ph.D. in marketing. After spending a few years as an assistant professor at the University of Iowa, I am currently a chaired professor in the marketing department at the Cox School of Business in Southern Methodist University (SMU), where I am enjoying my academic and residential life with my wife and my daughter.