Dare to Disrupt Episode 21: Anticipating the Waves of Change with Google’s Global Director of Solution Sales Ash Ashutosh

Ash Ashutosh is a serial entrepreneur and the Global Director of Solution Sales at Google. His data management startup, Actifio, achieved a valuation of over $1B and was acquired by Google in 2020.

In this episode, Ash talks about anticipating and advancing alongside what he calls the waves of change, in reference to the surges in innovation and technology that occur over time. His entrepreneurial journey reflects those technology surges – he started out in the silicon industry, then moved on to data storage software development. His most recent startup, Actifio, was in the business of managing and securing data. Ash talks about how he had the opportunity to work with some of the largest organizations in the world to better protect and manage their data while at Actifio.

At the end of the episode, third-year student Bianca Wisekal joins the conversation. She is an agribusiness management student who holds a leadership role within the Nittany Entrepreneur Society, Penn State’s student entrepreneurship club. She is also an administrative operations intern within Invent Penn State, and she is a technician and lab monitor at OriginLabs, Invent Penn State’s all-new fabrication space. She talks to Ash about how he stays motivated to keep innovating, as well as his predictions for where technology is heading.

About Ash Ashutosh

Ash Ashutosh is a serial entrepreneur and the Global Director of Solution Sales at Google. He graduated from Penn State with a Master’s degree in computer science.

Episode Chapters

0:00 – 8:00 Growing up in India, coming to Penn State and being gifted his last name

8:00 – 10:43 The need to add value, building the foundation of open systems

10:43 – 15:05 Taking the entrepreneurial leap with Serrano Systems

15:05 – 21:30 Scaling to become a market leader in optimizing storage assets

21:30 – 22:57 Three startup book recommendations

22:57 – 27:16 Taking a break, becoming a venture capital investor

27:16 – 31:48 Launching Actifio, managing huge amounts of data

31:48 – 33:04 Achieving unicorn status

33:05 Student Bianca Wisekal joins the conversation

33:40 – 35:29 Balancing work life and personal life in the C Suite

35:29 – 38:54 Technology predictions for the future, AI

38:54 – 40:31 What Ash wishes he told his college self

Download full episode transcript

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Dare to Disrupt is a podcast about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders, and the stories behind their success. Learn more.