“He is the founder and former CEO of the software company MphasiS.”
• Goodreads author profile of Jaithirth Rao
Jaithirth Rao, whom everyone calls Jerry, was born in Bangalore on 12 July 1952. He spent more than twenty years with Citibank and Citicorp across Asia, Europe, South America and North America, then walked away from it in 1998 to start a software company. That company became Mphasis, which today is headquartered in Bengaluru and counts as one of the city's big IT names.
I like his story because it refuses to stay in one lane. Banker, software founder, NASSCOM chairman, affordable housing developer, poet and essayist. Most of us struggle to finish one career; he appears to collect them. This profile sticks to the documented record.
Quick Information
Born in Bangalore, trained in chemistry, rose through global banking, and then decided the sensible thing at 46 was to start a software company.
Who Is Jerry Rao?
Jerry Rao is a Bangalore-born entrepreneur who founded Mphasis and later VBHC, an affordable housing company. He studied chemistry at Loyola College in Chennai, graduating in 1971, took an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in 1973 and a second MBA from the University of Chicago in 1981.
What Did Jerry Rao Do at Citibank?
He spent over two decades at Citibank and its parent Citicorp, working across four continents. He headed Citicorp's Development Division and served as chairman and CEO of Transaction Technologies Inc. in California, which put him close to the technology side of banking long before he left it.
How Did Jerry Rao Start Mphasis?
He started Mphasis Corporation in 1998 in California with Jeroen Tas, and in 2000 it merged with the Indian IT services firm BFL Software. The combined company grew into one of India's top ten IT and BPO firms and is headquartered in Bengaluru.
- 1998 Mphasis Corporation founded with Jeroen Tas
- 2000 Merger with BFL Software
- 2006 EDS buys a controlling stake
- After Rao stays on as non-executive chairman for a period
What Is VBHC, and Why Did He Start It?
VBHC Value Homes is the affordable housing venture he founded in 2008, aimed at people who are usually priced out of new homes. He also co-founded Home First Finance Company, which lends to first-time home buyers. In interviews he has been blunt about how layers of approvals push up building costs in India.
“Rao blames a regulatory system which keeps adding new laws without removing old ones.”
• Baker Library, Harvard Business School, summarising his oral history
What Else Is Jerry Rao Known For?
He is known as a writer and a public voice on economics and politics. He has chaired NASSCOM, won Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognition in India and New York, and published poetry and essays, including The Indian Conservative and Economist Gandhi.
Before the books on conservatism and Gandhi's economics, he published a volume of poetry with Penguin India called Gemini II.
Why Does Jerry Rao Belong in People of Bangalore?
Born in Bangalore in 1952, he founded Mphasis, a company now headquartered in Bengaluru, and was honoured by Karnataka with the Rajyotsava Award in 2005.
I haven't interviewed Jerry Rao for this piece. It's pieced together from online research: published interviews, news reports, books and official records, cross-checked against each other. If you know Jerry Rao and spot something I've got wrong, tap the WhatsApp icon at the bottom right and tell me, and I'll fix it.
FAQs
Who is Jerry Rao?
Jaithirth "Jerry" Rao is an Indian entrepreneur and author, the founder and former CEO of Mphasis and founder of VBHC Value Homes.
Is Jerry Rao from Bangalore?
Yes. He was born in Bangalore on 12 July 1952.
Who founded Mphasis?
Jerry Rao and Jeroen Tas founded Mphasis in 1998. It later merged with BFL Software and is headquartered in Bengaluru.
What is Jerry Rao doing now?
He is best known today for VBHC Value Homes, his affordable housing venture, and for his writing on economics and politics.
What books has Jerry Rao written?
His books include The Indian Conservative, Economist Gandhi, Notes From an Indian Conservative and the poetry collection Gemini II.
Contact Details
Mphasis is the easiest official door to his best-known company.
Worked at Mphasis in the Early Days?
If you were at Mphasis or BFL Software when the two came together, I would love to hear what it was like. Click the WhatsApp icon at the bottom right of your screen and tell me. That is also the easiest way to reach The City 24/7 about anything at all, including nominating someone for People of Bangalore.
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