Akraya President, Sonu Ratra Named to Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 List

Silicon Valley, CA, April 25, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Nominated by business leaders and researched by the publication, these 40 honorees are considered the "rising stars" in Silicon Valley who have made a significant impact on their professional and local community.

Ratra was selected as one of the 40 Top Executives to Watch for her outstanding achievements as a woman business owner in the staffing industry, her leadership and community service. As Akraya’s President, Sonu is responsible for the company’s new business development efforts, client relationship management and diversity supplier program. Through her decade long career in international recruiting and staffing, Sonu’s dedication to her profession have earned the appreciation of both employees and clients, while her strategic thinking and ability to think outside the box have helped catapult Akraya into a preferred IT solutions company to many Fortune 1000 enterprises. As one of the most influential female business owners, Sonu was also recently honored with the 2009 Enterprising Women of the Year Award by Enterprising Women Magazine. Sonu also won the 1999 President’s Club award for Butler International and the 2007 Supplier Excellence Award from PrO Unlimited at Genentech. Prior to Akraya, Sonu managed staffing strategies at Genentech, Adecco Technical, Butler Technology Solutions and Tata Consultancy Services.

“Silicon Valley is a hotbed of talent, so to be recognized for my work by the Silicon Valley Business Journal alongside with top executives of the area is truly gratifying.” Ratra said. “I hope to continue propelling Akraya towards becoming an industry leader as well as a strong advocate of the local community.”

Apart from leading Akraya’s aggressive growth plans, Sonu is passionate about community service and women empowerment. She has dedicated two years of her career to working directly with HIV infected AIDS patients through community outreach programs. Sonu is also proud to serve on the board of the Northern California Minority Supplier Diversity Council – MBEIC. In this role, she supports MBEIC’s mission to find ways and means to help minority-owned/diversity businesses grow and reach a larger market. Besides, being a part of national and local minority/diversity organizations, Sonu makes an effort to give back to local minority-owned businesses through Akraya’s Diversity Support Program by giving a preference to utilizing local diversity suppliers for the company’s corporate needs. Sonu also leads Akraya’s charitable programs such as the Silicon Valley’s annual Race for Literacy that raises funds and resources for boosting literacy in India.

Sonu will be featured in the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 special publication in the May 22nd issue and she will be honored at a reception and awards dinner for all the 40 Under 40 honorees on June 25th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

###