W.L. Mellon Speaker: Revathi Advaithi

Revathi Advaithi, CEO at Flex, presented on April 13. 

Revathi Advaithi assumed the role of CEO in February 2019 and is responsible for architecting the company’s strategic direction and leading Flex through a transformation that is defining a new era in manufacturing. Along with Flex’s strong workforce spanning 30 countries, Advaithi is focused on driving technology innovation, supply chain, and responsible, sustainable manufacturing solutions across various industries and end markets.

Prior to Flex, Advaithi was president and chief operating officer for the electrical sector business for Eaton, a power management company with over $20 billion in sales and 102,000 employees. She also had corporate responsibility for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. Advaithi managed Eaton’s largest business, consistently delivering high margins while reducing earnings volatility. She secured more than $13 billion in sales in 2018, with an array of electrical solutions built on the strengths of full-scale engineering and support services. She also led several strategic initiatives including digital technology transformation and globally distributed innovation centers.

Previously, Advaithi was president of Eaton’s electrical sector, Americas, and was responsible for the company’s electrical business in North, South, and Central America. Prior to that, she was president of the Electrical Sector for Asia Pacific in Shanghai, China.

In addition to her time with Eaton, Advaithi also worked at Honeywell for six years, with leadership roles spanning manufacturing, procurement, supply chain, and sourcing, including a role as general manager of Automation and Control Solutions.

Advaithi is a co-chair of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Advanced Manufacturing CEO Community (2022) and joined the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders (2021). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Uber and Catalyst.org, a member of the Business Roundtable, and the Catalyst CEO Champions For Change initiative. Advaithi was recognized as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business list for three consecutive years (2021, 2020, 2019) and named one of Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in India (2020).

Advaithi has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, and holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.