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Working on Global Tech from Silicon Valley

It’s a long way from Kathmandu, where she grew up, to Silicon Valley. But as she builds a dynamic career, Niyanta Khatri (Nepal, Mahindra UWC, Colorado College ’17) is right at home in Palo Alto.

Working for Logitech, Niya is playing a key role as the firm expands into making and marketing devices for video collaboration.

“This division feels like a startup,” she says. “You have to take risks, and I’m wearing a lot of different caps. I’m doing sales one day, then I’m traveling and doing partnerships with Microsoft and Google, and then I’m having calls with Asia and Europe, to set up this program there and see what the market looks like. I wake up every day and have no idea where today is going to go.”

While at Colorado College, Niya helped to launch Ogugu, a startup that provides a smartphone-based platform to help small businesses in Africa improve inventory management. Niya has stepped back from day-today involvement in the young company, though she still helps to shape its sales and marketing work.

“We got accepted to an incubator in Tanzania, and they’re helping us launch across East Africa,” she says.

After graduation, Niya spent two years in Silicon Valley with ADP (Automatic Data Processing). Now with Logitech’s videoconferencing division, “I’m one of the key players when it comes to go-to-market strategies,” Niya says. “It’s pushing me and challenging me, and I get to work with leaders. I think this will push me to move up really fast.”