Revathi Advaithi

Revathi Advaithi
Born (1967-10-18) October 18, 1967 (age 59)
India
EducationBirla Institute of Technology and Science (BS)
Thunderbird School of Global Management (MBA)
TitleCEO of Flex
TermFebruary 2019 – present
PredecessorMike McNamara

Revathi Advaithi is an Indian-born American business executive. She is the CEO of Flex (formerly Flextronics) and an advocate for women in STEM and in the workplace.

Prior to joining Flex in 2019, Advaithi worked in various leadership positions at Eaton and Honeywell.

Advaithi served as a co-chair of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Advanced Manufacturing CEO Community (2022) and the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders (2021).

She currently serves as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Uber. She is also a member of the MIT Presidential CEO Advisory Board. She was named to Fortune's Most Powerful Women list in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 , and 2025 .

Early life

Revathi Advaithi was born in Gujarat, India, into a Tamil family. Her father, A. N. N. Swamy worked for Indian Oil Corporation, and her mother, Visalam Swamy, was a homemaker. She has four sisters. Her family lived in Bihar and Assam before settling in Madras (now Chennai). Raised in a household that valued education, discipline, and curiosity, and encouraged independence, Advaithi developed an early interest in mathematics and problem-solving, which later led her to pursue engineering.

Education

Advaithi graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in 1990, and earned an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 2005.

Career

Advaithi began her career as a shop floor supervisor at Eaton in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined Honeywell in 2002, where she spent six years in functions spanning manufacturing and supply chain. In 2008, Advaithi returned to Eaton and helped run various groups within the electrical business unit for approximately 7 years before becoming Eaton's COO.

In February 2019, Advaithi joined Flex as CEO with a focus on driving the next era of technology, manufacturing and supply chain.

Revathi Advaithi at Buffalo Grove, Illinois

Under Advaithi, Flex has shifted its focus to end-to-end customer value chain ownership, augmenting its core contract manufacturing business.

Revathi has shared that her business philosophy heavily focuses on sustainability, culture, and diversity and inclusion. She frequently provides industry guidance for the manufacturing and supply chain sectors.

United States President Joe Biden appointed Advaithi to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (2023) and the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (2022). In June 2023, Advaithi participated in the "Innovation Handshake" at the White House with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Biden. The following month, Advaithi hosted President Biden at a Flex factory in South Carolina, highlighting Flex's partnership with Enphase Energy.

Flex CEO Revathi Advaithi at Tczew, Poland

Advaithi is also heavily focused on driving sustainable manufacturing practices at Flex. During her tenure, Flex made CDPs 'A list' for tackling water security and has pledged to cut operational emissions in half by 2030 based on a 2019 base year. In July 2022, under Advaithi's leadership, Flex announced a commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Advaithi served on the board of BAE Systems between January 2018 - July 2020. In July 2020, she stepped down from this role and joined Uber as a board member. She is also a member of the Business Roundtable, and Catalyst CEO Champions For Change initiative.

Media and speaking

Revathi was selected to the inaugural CNBC Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list in 2024.

In 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, Advaithi was named to Fortune's Most Powerful Women list, one of the few Indian-born CEOs recognized.

In April 2022, the Wall Street Journal profiled Advaithi in "The Modeling of a Manufacturing CEO" article.

From 2021-2025 Advaithi served as a member of World Economic Forum's Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, a coalition of business leaders across key sectors committed to driving positive climate action and sustainable economic growth.

The Economic Times named Advaithi "Global Indian of the Year" in the 2023 ETPrime Women Leadership Awards.

Advaithi is also a frequent public speaker. She has spoken at the Fortune's Global Forum and Most Powerful Women conferences, the Collision Conference, Ethisphere's Global Ethics Summit, the WSJ CEO Council Summit, Harvard Business School panels, Women Executive 50 Summit and Catalyst conferences and Carnegie Mellon University events.

Under Advaithi, Flex was named one of the World's Most Admired and one of The World's Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere, and recognized on the Global 500 by Fortune.

Personal life

Advaithi met her husband Jeevan Mulgund in Hutchinson, KS and they married in 1998. Mulgund and Advaithi have since lived in England, Shanghai, Phoenix, AZ, Pittsburgh, PA, and they are currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have two children.

Advaithi is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workforce, as well as STEM education for girls and computer science education. Advaithi often says that she is inspired by her mother, who singlehandedly raised five daughters after her husband's death and ensured that they received good educations.

References

  1. ↑ Tellis, Shannon (September 25, 2019). "Revathi Advaithi, only Indian-origin CEO on Most Powerful Women in Biz list, is a BITS Pilani alum, advocates STEM education for girls". The Economic Times.
  2. 1 2 "EMSNOW Executive Interview: Revathi Advaithi, CEO, Flex · EMSNow". www.emsnow.com. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  3. ↑ Loizos, Connie (July 2, 2020). "Uber adds another director to its board Flex CEO Revathi Advaithi". Tech Crunch.
  4. ↑ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  5. ↑ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  6. 1 2 "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
  7. ↑ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Fortune. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  10. ↑ Keshavdev, V. (May 16, 2026). "If India wants to genuinely be China plus one, it has to demonstrate end-to-end cost advantage: Flex CEO Revathi Advaithi". Fortune India. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Revathi Advaithi: Diagnosed with Cancer, She Didn't Miss a Day as CEO. South Asian Trailblazers. March 24, 2026. Event occurs at 9:33. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via YouTube.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Sheila (November 3, 2021). "The Risk-taker". Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Gannon, Joyce (May 31, 2012). "Eaton electrical unit chief 'giving space'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  14. ↑ Tellis, Shannon (September 25, 2019). "Revathi Advaithi, only Indian-origin CEO on Most Powerful Women in Biz list, is a BITS Pilani alum, advocates STEM education for girls". The Economic Times. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  15. ↑ Gale, Michael. "A Lesson For The Vaccine Industry From The Future of Flexible Manufacturing". Forbes. No. February 8, 2021.
  16. ↑ Moorhead, Patrick. "Meet Flex: One Of The Most Crucial Companies You May Not Be Familiar With". Forbes. No. June 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ Swan, Daniel. "CEO dialogue: Perspectives on productivity and sustainability". McKinsey & Company.
  18. ↑ Robert, Yola (March 20, 2026). "How Revathi Advaithi Is Reshaping Culture At Flex". Forbes.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ↑ "Transcript: The Path Forward: Manufacturing with Revathi Advaithi". Washington Post.
  20. ↑ "President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions". White House. March 10, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  21. ↑ Vuukle. "PM Modi at White House on third successive day for "Hi-tech handshake" with top CEOs". Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  22. ↑ Kim, Elizabeth. "Biden to Announce $60 Million Enphase Energy Investment". Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  23. ↑ "The A List 2020". CDP.
  24. ↑ Patel, Nilay. "FLEX MANUFACTURES EVERYTHING FROM HAIR DRYERS TO THE MAC PRO — WHAT'S NEXT?". The Verge. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Flex releases 2022 sustainability report". Construction Week. July 17, 2022.
  26. ↑ Glazer, Emily (April 16, 2022). "The Molding of a Manufacturing CEO". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Uber adds another director to its board: Flex CEO Revathi Advaithi". TechCrunch. July 2, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Business Roundtable".
  29. ↑ staff, CNBC com (February 28, 2024). "These are the 2024 CNBC Changemakers: See the full list of women transforming business". CNBC. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  30. ↑ staff, CNBC com (February 28, 2024). "These are the 2024 CNBC Changemakers: See the full list of women transforming business". CNBC. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  31. ↑ "The Molding of a Manufacturing CEO". WSJ. April 16, 2022.
  32. ↑ "CEO Climate Alliance to world leaders: We support you in taking decisive climate steps at COP26". World Economic Forum. October 27, 2021.
  33. ↑ Flex (June 9, 2021). Fortune Global Forum - Full speed ahead: manufacturing meets the future. Retrieved April 14, 2026 – via YouTube.
  34. ↑ "When robots become co-workers". Collision.
  35. ↑ "Revathi Advaithi". Global Ethics Summit. February 17, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Leading in Uncertain Times". WSJ. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Leaders who make a difference: Harvard Business Review Q&A with Revathi Advaithi". Flex. May 30, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Adapting, Collaborating and Leading Through Crisis". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  39. ↑ "W.L. Mellon Speaker: Revathi Advaithi". Carnegie Mellon University.
  40. ↑ "World's Most Admired Companies". Fortune.
  41. ↑ "Ethisphere Recognizes Flex as One of the World's Most Ethical Companies". SMT007. November 18, 2019.
  42. ↑ Hinchliffe, Emma (August 2, 2021). "The number of women running Global 500 businesses soars to an all-time high". Fortune.
  43. ↑ "EMSNOW Executive Interview: Revathi Advaithi, CEO, Flex · EMSNow". EMSNow. March 11, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.