Raja Narayanan assumes charge as CFO at Virgin Hyperloop

July 23, 2020: Virgin Hyperloop has appointed Raja Narayanan as chief financial officer, who will oversee all finance and business development functions of the company as it drives hyperloop technology towards commercialisation. 

“Raja has an unprecedented background in creating value in disruptive transportation opportunities and operationalising large scale industrial projects,” said Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop. “We are excited to have him join Virgin Hyperloop at this pivotal time where the world is adapting to the new normal and realising we need solutions like hyperloop that allow us to not just rebuild, but evolve.”

“I have built my career around things that fly and things that move,” said Narayanan. “For the next chapter, I am excited to be joining Virgin Hyperloop, the company truly pioneering the future of autonomous mass transit. I am convinced in the value of hyperloop to unlock exponential growth and impact millions in generations to come by creating a safe, sustainable mode of transportation.”

Before joining Virgin Hyperloop, he was most recently an SVP at Hyundai-Aptiv Autonomous Driving Joint Venture. He was part of a broader executive team at Aptiv that led to the creation of the joint venture valued at $4 billion.

Prior to that, Narayanan worked with OneWeb and Panasonic.

He holds a master’s degree in computer science from University of Louisiana, Lafayette, and dual bachelor’s degrees in engineering and physics from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, and the University of Madras, India, respectively. He is also a co-author of 6 wireless networking patents that have been granted by the US patent office.

In June, Virgin Hyperloop and Spirit AeroSystems, one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers, announced a collaboration agreement. The collaboration will see Spirit AeroSystems’ engineers, fabricators, builders, supply chain and certification experts, and technicians helping to bring hyperloop closer to commercialisation in the United States. Other industry-leading partners include Virgin, DP World, KPMG, Foster + Partners, Systra, BIG, SNCF, GE, Deutsche Bahn, Black & Veatch, McKinsey, Deloitte, Jacobs, Turner & Townsend, ARUP, and Steer, among others.