Lakshmi Natarajan: The Inspiring Global Journey from Corporate Executive to Entrepreneurship
Miami, Florida — Lakshmi Natarajan, an Indian-American executive, entrepreneur, world traveler, and culture-cultivator, is making waves in the business world with her incredible journey from a successful corporate executive to a thriving entrepreneur. With two diverse businesses, Excelador LLC and Travel Plus ThemTM, Lakshmi’s story is a testament to the power of following your passion, leveraging your strengths, and embracing change.
Born in India and raised in the United States, Lakshmi’s desire to explore the world and learn about different cultures has been a driving force in her life since a young age. After attending the University of Pennsylvania and over the course of more than two decades, Lakshmi established a remarkable career across various domains, including marketing, sales, strategy, operations, and consulting. Her professional journey included roles at renowned companies such as Accenture, American Express, GlaxoSmithKline, Compass, and working with corporations across various industries.
Lakshmi’s career took her to various corners of the globe, where she held senior leadership positions, allowing her to travel extensively and collaborate with diverse teams. To date, she has traveled to over 65 countries across 6 continents and counting. However, after twenty years of corporate success, she felt a calling to make a change inspired by her children and driven by her mission to “be the change she wished to see in the world,” a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. “I did not want to wake up 20 years from now and wonder ‘what if,’” Lakshmi explains. “You only live one life, and work is a component of your life. I wanted to take the leap and build something meaningful.” And that’s precisely what she did. With determination and a wealth of experience, Lakshmi founded two distinctive businesses: Excelador LLC and Travel Plus ThemTM.
Excelador LLC, her business management firm, offers consulting, advisory, and business services to corporate clients and start ups to achieve new heights of success. Leveraging her global experiences across Fortune 500 companies and startups, Lakshmi collaborates with clients to lead high-performing teams, deliver differentiated customer experiences, scale global operations, and optimize growth. Her unique position as a former corporate executive turned entrepreneur sets her apart in her niche. She combines her diverse global personal and professional experiences to offer unparalleled value to her customers and clients across various industries. The recent work spans across companies in technology, life sciences, consumer products, education, and private equity firms. Lakshmi leads projects across marketing, sales, strategy, transformations, customer experience, and diversity/inclusion initiatives. She has held positions as a fractional executive and advisor to numerous companies. In addition, Lakshmi has been a guest speaker at various conferences such as Global Inclusion Online Forum and serves on community boards including her role as Treasurer of The India-US Chamber of Commerce of South Florida.
Based on her passion for global citizenship, Lakshmi created Travel Plus ThemTM, a travel education and global learning company that serves parents, educators, and children. With a focus on building awareness of destinations, providing tourism itineraries, educating on travel for multigenerational groups, and raising inclusive children, Travel Plus ThemTM has received sponsorships from travel, hospitality, and education companies as a unique player in the industry. She believes that travel does not stop when you have kids; it’s a new beginning. Lakshmi goes beyond being solely a family travel influencer by also focusing on educating parents and children about travel and the cultures within the countries they explore. Traveling and learning about the world teach children core life values of curiosity, respect, and empathy. What makes Travel Plus Them’s offerings stand out is the “Outside/Inside Approach” based on their experiences of the outside world with global travel also helping local communities. Travel Plus ThemTM brings those travel and cultural insights into homes and schools as global education for children. Their program “Around the World in 60 Minutes” provides children a global education. With their family experiences of traveling to over 35 countries, Lakshmi’s daughters take children on a virtual journey across the globe, exploring all seven continents with resources to reinforce the experience. The other resources available include travel guides/tips, diversity toolkits, approaches to embedding global culture at home, and various worksheets for children.
Lakshmi Natarajan’s journey is an inspiring example of how leveraging your experiences, following your passion, and embracing change can lead to fulfilling entrepreneurial success. Her story reminds us that challenges are an integral part of the journey and that they can ultimately help us “thrive in our truth.” Her vision of raising inclusive global citizens through travel and education is a beacon of hope in today’s world. Her insights on career, leadership, family travel, and raising global citizens have been featured on various award winning podcasts, including The Me-Suite and prestigious publications such as Forbes, New York Weekly, Miami Wire, Boston Herald, Savoteur, and US Reporter. Lakshmi currently resides in Miami, Florida, USA with her husband and her 2 daughters, Shyla and Shriya. Her mission continues to inspire others to believe in themselves, embark on their journeys, explore the world, and make a meaningful impact.
Country: United States of America
Media Contact: Lakshmi Natarajan
Company: Travel Plus ThemTM, Excelador
Email: lakshmi@travelplusthem.com
Phone number: +12014064867
Website: www.travelplusthem.com
Social Media: @travelplusthem
