Lumina Advisory Services CEO Talks Making Strategic Career Decisions

Ruby Chandy, SB ’82, SM ’89, has built her diverse career on a willingness to explore and try new things. 

“I learned that risk-taking was critical,” said Chandy. 

This learning has certainly paid off. Since her time at MIT Sloan, Chandy has worked in marketing and general management in a variety of different industries. Chandy has held sector and division general management leadership roles in various high value industrial and life science companies including Millipore, Boston Scientific, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rohm and Haas / Dow Chemical, and Pall Corporation. She worked in sector and general management roles and served as chief marketing officer at Dow Chemical, Rohm and Haas, and as vice president of marketing at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Chandy is currently the CEO of Lumina Advisory Services, which works with private equity and venture firms and their portfolio companies. 

Chandy discussed her career path and provided advice for MIT Sloan students during the November Innovative Leadership (iLead) Speaker Series event, a fireside chat moderated by MIT Leadership Center Faculty Director Nelson Repenning, PhD ’96 (School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies; Professor, System Dynamics). Held by MIT Sloan in partnership with the MIT Leadership Center, iLead showcases inspirational leaders who have made an impact on their organizations and communities through innovative management. This iLead was co-hosted by MIT Sloan Women in Management, the MIT Sloan Management Consulting Club, and the MIT Venture Capital and Private Equity Club. 

Navigating professional transitions 

With many students in the audience, Chandy spoke about how she navigated career transitions during her first few years after graduating from MIT Sloan. 

“It’s really about figuring out what you’re good at and what satisfies you,” said Chandy. 

After receiving an undergraduate degree from MIT in material science and engineering, Chandy worked as an engineer and engineering supervisor for almost four years. She then came to MIT Sloan to transition to a career in marketing, strategy, and business. After graduating, Chandy worked to deepen her marketing experience, working on consumer marketing engagements at McKinsey & Company. She found the work analytically exciting but, after two years, decided that she wanted to get into a line marketing role within a technical company.  

“A theme that I come back to repeatedly in my career is wanting both thinking and doing roles in my jobs,” said Chandy. 

Chandy explained that, as an engineer, she was more focused on the “doing”: working on projects without being involved in the strategic business decisions. At McKinsey, she worked with companies on the “thinking” analysis to help them make strategic business decisions but realized that she was also interested in implementing those decisions. She sought a business role that could enable her to be a part of both the thinking and the doing. This led her to marketing and then general management roles at Millipore, where she worked on selling contamination control products to electronics fabs and engineers. 

When it was time to take her next career step, Chandy went to Boston Scientific to run a urology business, a move that took her outside her comfort zone. 

“I knew nothing about medicine or that kind of product or that kind of customer base,” said Chandy. “But I thought it would be exciting to get into and understand operating room cases.” 

Chandy learned how to be successful at that job. Over time, she built relationships with the doctors and researchers who were Boston Scientific customers. She credited that experience with teaching her the value of professional risk-taking. 

Building and contributing to strong teams  

Chandy also emphasized the value of relationship-building in career progression. She encouraged students to build relationships with people in their fields as well as others that pique their interest. 

“It took a long time to realize that as human beings, we can be more effective if we have that personal connection,” said Chandy. 

Connection and collaboration through diversity have been key in Chandy’s career, particularly when building teams. She mentioned the value of having people with different perspectives interact with each other. When she worked in marketing, she hired people with backgrounds in different types of marketing and who came from different types of companies.  

“You need people who don’t go with the groupthink, who ask questions, who have different experience sets, and who can try to bring up risks,” said Chandy. 

Chandy continued her marketing and general management career at Rohm and Haas, Dow Chemical, and Pall Corporation. As she ended her full-time career, another type of professional team became integral to Chandy’s career as she joined corporate boards. With over 15 years of experience serving on public company boards, she provided some insight into boards’ responsibilities and activities. She explained that the board is an independent entity that oversees the strategy and governance of the company while offering guidance and support to senior leadership. Board members represent shareholders and other stakeholders in the company and provide external experience and viewpoints, as well as high-level perspective on the company’s strategic direction and performance. 

“As you progress into the latter third of your career, I encourage you to see if your company will support you to join a board,” Chandy advised current MIT Sloan students. “Because it forces you to think the way that directors think, the way shareholders think, the way lenders think, which can also be applied to your daily jobs.” 

Although women and minorities are still underrepresented on corporate boards, Chandy pointed out that progress has been made in increasing this type of diversity. She explained that as the world changes, boards increasingly need people with specific expertise on topics such as cybersecurity, climate change, talent management, or in specific industry sectors. This opens opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to serve on boards. 

Chandy often mentors women and others from underrepresented communities who want to serve on boards or lead companies in other capacities. She encourages them to network with others and share their experiences.  

“Your story to tell is about the performance you’ve delivered,” Chandy advised. 

Engagement with MIT Sloan 

As an engaged MIT Sloan alumna, Chandy has found opportunities to expand her network and get to know other MIT Sloan alumni. 

She has served on several committees and boards at MIT and MIT Sloan. A former member of the MIT Sloan Alumni Board, Chandy currently serves on the MIT Sloan Americas Executive Board, as well as on two MIT Corporation Visiting Committees: one for MIT Sloan and the other for Graduate and Undergraduate Education. She encourages current MIT Sloan students to take advantage of these opportunities for alumni to stay engaged with the school after graduation. 

“It’s another way to network, connect, and enrich yourself,” said Chandy. “[You may meet] the alumni who help you find jobs or give you advice on how to succeed.”