Spartan Profiles: Manoj Saxena
WEBIFY SOLUTIONS
Founded in 2002, Webify Solutions, Inc., Austin, TX, has grown quickly as a provider of software known as Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), industry-specific modules that enable companies—in industries ranging from insurance to health care—to more flexibly automate business processes.
In August, the privately-held company was bought by IBM. “This marks an exciting moment in our company’s history,” says Manoj Saxena, M.B.A. ’91, the company’s founder, CEO and Chairman, who will continue to manage Webify and its 120 employees—70 in Austin and 50 in Mumbai, India. “What we see here is the creation of a very large market for SOA in the next three or four years.”
A native of Hyderabad, India, Saxena had the academic credentials to attend Harvard, but chose Michigan State “because it offered a combination of high academic ranking along with the right price points for outstate students.” Did the MSU education prove cost effective? “Abslutely,” says Manoj. “I got my money’s worth and more. MSU made me ready for a professional career in the U.S.”
Manoj touts Glenn Omura, associate professor of marketing and supply chain management at the Eli Broad College of Business, as his mentor. “Dr. Omura was extremely tough and demanding,” he recalls. “But he is a very engaging professor.” With Omura’s recommendation, Manoj got a coveted marketing job with 3M, where he managed its $100 million network apparatus business unit.
An entrepreneur at heart, he left 3M in 1998 and founded Exterprise Inc., a software company, which he sold in 2001. In 2000 Manoj was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Inter@ctive Week magazine. “My personal goal is to strike a balance between work and family,” he says, noting he has two daughters aged 9 and 12. “I also want to continue to be passionate about my professional life.”
Manoj is also passionate about America, a land that fosters entrepreneurship, and MSU, which prepared him to succeed.