Chitra Ragavan Email & Phone Number

Tysons Corner, Va, Us

"Chitra was instrumental in getting our business off the ground."— Stewart Kelly, CEO & Founder, CEO, Ground Truth Intelligence “Chitra is the trusted advisor and right hand every CEO needs”— Scott Barrow, former Chief Product Officer, Gem "Anyone looking to further a world-class product and company, Chitra is your woman."— Chris Williams, CEO & Founder, Zelos In my exclusive consulting and coaching practice, I work closely with CEOs and founders of deep-tech startups such as Zelos, SES, Peregrine, and Morpheus, with a laser focus on on strategic positioning and leadership development. I bring dual-career expertise as a C-level tech executive and a seasoned journalist with deep expertise covering public policy and national security. I have a proven track record of coaching the brightest minds in the technology space and creating one-of-a-kind positioning strategies and corporate narratives for deep-tech startups that often struggle to get traction with customers, investors, and the press. I'm a go-to resource for Boards looking to support their portfolio companies. I'm also an investor in promising early-stage startups and an advisor to venture funds. I'm a member of K Street Capital, Moonshots Capital, and Palumni VC and an advisor to NextUp Ventures/NextUp Partners.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Us

The Veterans Defense Project is a response to the crisis of veterans returning from war and turning to criminal behavior manifested in self-destructive, reckless, and violent behavior. The VDP helps break this cycle of trauma and helps restore veterans involved in the criminal justice system to the communities they served.

New York, Ny, Us

“A consummate professional, Chitra has the phenomenal ability to quickly get organizations the desired exposure, build lasting relationships, and offer expert advice rooted in decades of experience."— Greg Barbaccia, Former President, Elementus As the Chief Strategy Officer, my task was to position the crypto forensics startup for lasting success and brand visibility, and I relentlessly executed with speed and sharp focus. My team and I built a global brand with 43 media wins in 34 publications in 36 weeks. Using my proprietary, time-tested, repeatable methodology, I crafted and executed Elementus' brand positioning strategy; created a unique public voice in crypto analytics and forensics; and built the content, communications, and media outreach framework and tactics; got coverage across mainstream, industry, and trade press, blogs, television, and podcasts. Collaborated closely with a top-tier team of hand-picked writers, PR, and media training specialists to ensure rapid, seamless, execution of our brand, content, and media strategy. Publications included The Wall Street Journal, Politico, NBC News, Forbes, TechCrunch, CoinDesk, Yahoo!, Fast Company, Bloomberg, American Banker, NYSE Floor Talk, The Information, and other outlets. Crafted a thought leadership strategy to enable the CEO to share a compelling voice in data science and become the go-to forensics expert in the crypto space. Conceived, helped execute, and publicized the company’s first ransomware report to offer our substantive expertise in the crypto forensics space. The preliminary report was presented to the White House National Security Council staff. Built the company's visibility in a timely way to support critical goals.

Washington, District Of Columbia, Us

I served as the bridge between the Chamber’s policy and marketing divisions, helping to simplify and communicate the complex and arcane policies around compliance and regulation of cryptocurrency and digital assets. The Chamber is one of the most influential digital assets trade associations in the world.

Venice, Ca, Us

"Chitra represents our core values, 'Empower others,' and 'Make it happen,' better than anyone else." — Micah Winkelspecht, CEO & Founder, Gem.“Chitra is one of the most hardworking executives you will ever see. If you want to bring and drive any key initiative to completion, she is the person you would want to have. She is relentless in her pursuit of getting things done.”— Siva Kannan, Former VP Engineering, GemAs Chief Strategy and Communications Officer at the crypto startup Gem (subsequently acquired by Blockdaemon), I led internal and external communications and media relations.I managed the communications, marketing, and people operations divisions while interacting with all levels of the organization, offering deep C-Level engagement and leading the leadership team and company through pivots and challenges. I also collaborated closely with CEO and founder, Micah Winkelspecht, on investor, board, and client relations. ➤ Executed strategic content initiatives that earned more than 200 pieces of press over a 2-year period in publications such as TechCrunch, Forbes, and CoinDesk.➤ Developed the public policy strategy to put Gem on the radar of government bodies including Congress, White, House, regulatory agencies, and Defense Department➤ Mentored and supported the entire organization while building a cadre of female leaders in a nearly 50%-female company within a largely male-dominated industry➤ Led executive communications and media relations across traditional, broadcast, and digital channels ➤ Piloted the company’s pivot from enterprise blockchain healthcare and automotive platform to a consumer-facing cryptocurrency portfolio.➤ Planned and executed the strategy for our landmark federal cryptocurrency trademark lawsuit filed against a company that infringed on our name and logo; the suit was settled in Gem’s favor.➤ Hosted the 10-part podcast/videocast cryptocurrency series, "Running with Unicorns."

Venice, Ca, Us

I joined Gem as the Chief Communications Officer and then was given the additional portfolio as Chief Strategy Officer in March 2018.

Denver, Colorado, Us

"Chitra generated significant revenue for Palantir and at the same time, the social impact and goodwill she generated was priceless, directly increasing Palantir's value, while helping us move toward a more just society."— Michael Hurley, Palantir Advisor, Team Lead, 9/11 Commission Staff Starting in June 2009, I focused exclusively on the CEO’s priority – strategic campaigns, alliances, and impact – leveraging public policy for market expansion, brand positioning, and social impact. Working side-by-side with the CEO while collaborating with the executive team and forward-deployed engineers, I led multiple high-profile projects and helped build the early U.S. Government Civil business and later the commercial vertical by identifying the right strategic opportunities and landing Palantir's first significant blue-chip reference customers.➤ I built key strategic relationships including with President Obama’s CIO and CTO at the White House, the U.S. Commerce Department, and trade groups, resulting in:• An invitation for our CEO to join President Barack Obama on a delegation to India and to speak before President Obama gave his keynote• An invitation for the CEO to give the welcome speech for then-head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano on her visit to India ➤ Set up all the initial policy outreach efforts to U.S. ambassadors worldwide to educate them about Palantir culminating in a busload of U.S. diplomatic staff stationed in 13 countries to visit the Palantir Headquarters in Palo Alto➤ Helped created a gold-standard brand identity that helped Palantir gain go-to-market traction, secure a $20 billion valuation, and on the path to a public listing➤ Conceived, launched, and amplified Palantir's social impact vertical as a core element of the brand. Brought in and executed the first 12 tech-for-social good deployments that cemented the brand and has generated a decade's worth of positive press coverage, still ongoing.

Denver, Colorado, Us

I joined Palantir as the Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy. A major early success story was initiating a front-page, above-the-fold in-depth profile of Palantir and its CEO in the Wall Street Journal, instantly catapulting the company from stealth mode to international fame and doubling revenue overnight.

Washington, Dc, Us

"Chitra was one of the most aggressive, relentless journalists that I've ever had the pleasure of working with." — Gordon Witkin, Former Asst. Managing Editor, U.S. News & World Report."Chitra was an inspirational colleague - tenacious, tireless and deeply sourced, and respected by those she covered. I was lucky to work with her, and U.S. News was lucky to have her."— Liz Halloran, Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs As one of the top investigative reporters and known for unparalleled integrity and accuracy, I wrote groundbreaking features and authored or co-authored nearly a dozen cover stories.➤ Developed in-depth profiles of the nation’s top crime-busters, a 3-part investigation into problems within U.S. Secret Service, corruption among defense contractors and their dealings with members of Congress, and an exposé of Chinese espionage tactics via an award-winning profile of Chinese triple agent.➤ Covered September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and aftermath.➤ Reported on the work of the 9/11 Commission and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

Washington, Dc, Us

"Chitra Ragavan was one of the most enterprising and hard-working reporters I had the pleasure to manage at National Public Radio." — Michele Dubach, former Senior Editor, NPR.I served as an on-air correspondent first on the Science desk and then the National desk, covering the biggest breaking news stories of the day as well as unique long-form narratives.➤ Spent a year covering President Clinton’s healthcare reform package, giving listeners behind-the-scenes access and focusing on the frenetic, often secretive, lobbying on Capitol Hill around the controversial, high-stakes piece of proposed legislation.➤ Reported on major health and science breakthroughs and controversies including the AIDS epidemic, efforts which culminated in a 7-part documentary series about AIDS in India.➤ Reported extensively on national security, law enforcement, terrorism, and legal issues including the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky scandals, President Clinton’s impeachment, and a continuous onslaught of major breaking news.

Chicago, Il, Us

➤ I worked as a segment producer and an on-air correspondent for one of the most prominent and respected public affairs television shows on Public Television, called “Chicago Tonight.”➤ Helped bring to the table some of the most important political, policy, literary, and sports figures in the area for award-winning roundtable discussions.➤ Served as one of the principal on-air reporters of the in-depth video news pieces that preceded these discussions.➤ Covered the most important and relevant stories for Chicago audiences. Many of our political guests went on to become major national players including in the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Master Of Arts - Ma, Journalism

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Biochemistry, Biology