Raja-juvenation

As the newest member of Mount Lebanon’s Commission, Raja plans to build a more vigorous and dynamic district for business and technology.

He's earned degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, has an office in the South Hills, a young family in Mount Lebanon and one two-syllable name. Raja, a transplant from Chennai, India, whose software-development firm is a three-time winner on Inc. Magazine's annual list of fastest-growing companies, is a guy who thinks locally and acts globally.

The 42-year-old CEO and co-founder of Computer Enterprises Inc., located in the South Hills, won a spot on the Mount Lebanon Commission in November, attacking the campaign at the same high-energy pace he handles his 400-person firm: a methodical strategy, targeted marketing and a knock on every door in his approximately 5,200-person district.

"I don't have a background in politics," says the soft-spoken Republican, who became a U.S. citizen in 2004. "But I approach public issues in a businesslike way—here is the problem, here's the solution. You need a vision, you need milestones, you need goals."

And a recognizable name. Raja's single moniker, not unusual in his birthplace of Bangalore in southern India, was initially a stumper here. "People always say, ‘Are you trying to be like Cher?'" he jokes. "But I was born with one name." After completing a degree in India, he came to Pittsburgh in 1986. With the exception of a six-month stint in Silicon Valley, it's been home ever since.

Like other tech executives, Raja wants to retain the region's young talent. Having earned a master's degree in computer science at Pitt, he is now chairman of its computer-science-industry board, which includes New Economy names such as FedEx, Seagate, Google and Net App. With CMU, which awarded him his M.B.A in 2001, his firm is piloting a method for improving long-term IT engagements. Raja has tapped those connections for his goal of making his older trolley-car suburb a technology hub.

Start-ups with Oakland roots can be transplanted to Mount Lebanon, he believes, given a little nurturing. He's betting that they will respond to a new Mount Lebanon mentoring effort. He serves on the town's Business Mentoring Roundtable, a group of local CEOs with a goal of recruiting 10 new information- and knowledge-based businesses to its business district along Washington Road. The roundtable promises advice on marketing, operations, intellectual property and capital, and hopes to create incubator space for new companies this year.

"Typically, people involved in start-ups are young, with young children," he says. He believes Mount Lebanon's low-key, family-friendly reputation can attract those newcomers. "We've got the historic homes, the T, the proximity to the airport and no business tax. We need to market that." He sees new companies as a key to future growth but wants to push for more vibrant shopping and entertainment, citing a revamp of the former Denis Theater as a priority.

CEI, which develops custom software solutions for Fortune 50 companies, is a national company, with locations from California to New York City. Raja says he travels about once every two weeks, but prefers a two-minute commute and time at home with his wife, physician Neeta Raja, and two young daughters. He wants other families to follow his lead to Mount Lebanon. "There's no reason to lose my employees to Wexford," he says. "My strongest sales pitch is: This a great community."