BOSTON— Change, adaptation, and diversity & inclusion come naturally to Bala Venkat Muthukaruppan, who was born in Tamil Nadu, and grew up in Delhi, Calcutta, Andhra Pradesh and in several Gulf countries: Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain, and Qatar.
“Yes, I’ve lived through the first Gulf war in the 90s,” says Ms. Muthukaruppan.” This has truly enriched my life and taught me that the only thing that is constant is life is change and being adaptable is very important. The longest I’ve ever lived and called home is Boston: for about 21 years now.”
In an exclusive video interview with INDIA New England News, Ms. Muthukaruppan recounts her journey of volunteer and charity work.
To watch the full interview, please click here, or on the image below.
When Ms. Muthukaruppan moved to Needham, MA about a decade ago with her family, she did not see that diversity in her new hometown. She did not wait for things to change. She got directly involved and came up with several community initiatives.
She served as Co-Chair of Needham Arts and Culture Council for two years. She was appointed by the town Select Board to dispense public funding allocated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council to support community-based projects and activities in the performing and visual arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to benefit the residents of Needham.
She also got engaged with various town activities, including Needham Resilience Network (board member); Indian Community of Needham (former president and co-founder); Secular, non-profit organization aimed at celebrating and preserving the culture and heritage of India and surrounding South Asian countries; fostering friendships and unity among community members; advancing the educational, cultural, and charitable interests of the community; and representing the community to the people of Needham and beyond; and Needham Public School PTC (President for 2 years).
On April 26th, 2024, Ms. Muthukaruppan will be honored as the Outstanding Woman of the Year 2024 at the 21st Annual Woman of the Year Awards gala at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. The event will be attended by over 400 community leaders, social activists, entrepreneurs, academicians, and philanthropists.
To register for the gala, please click here.
The Purple Wings, which Ms. Muthukaruppan co-founded, this month made headlines for its contributions to the community. This non-profit is dedicated to empowering women through education, mentorship, and community building.
“Our mission is to provide women with the tools and resources they need to achieve their full potential and succeed in their personal and professional lives. We believe that by investing in women, we can create a more equitable and just society for all,” says Ms. Muthukaruppan.
Professionally, Ms. Muthukaruppan is a senior technology leader with a master’s in computer science and engineering from Boston University. She has 23 years of experience in all aspects of Software Development Life Cycle and Product delivery. Most recently, she served as the Senior Engineering & Product Delivery Leader at Symbotic, which provides an advanced automation solution to make the supply chain faster, more efficient, and more profitable for manufacturers, distributors and retailers of all sizes. She is also the founder of the DEI Council at Symbotic.
