Employee Spotlight
Bala Ramamurthy
Group Manager, Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Budget Division
Bala Ramamurthy, Man on a Fast Track
Very few of us can get by on just one name in the business world. But Erungar Ramamurthy Balasubramaniam insists that you call him “Bala” because, well, Erungar Ramamurthy Balasubramaniam doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
But one name says a lot. In his native India, Bala’s name means “youthful form of life.” At Catapult, it means one man working on two projects.
Bala works as a group manager for the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Budget Division project, interfacing with coders and end users of the Budget Information Control System (BICS); and he acts as senior consultant on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Grants and Disbursement project, focusing on technical issues.
That duality allows Bala to approach his work holistically; not people, processes, or technology individually, but a combination of the three. “The marriage of business acumen combined with technical perspective has helped me grow professionally,” he says.
After graduating in 1999 from the University of Madras with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, Bala came to the U.S. in 2000 to work in Washington, DC. He then moved to the Midwest, but came back to the National Capital area to join Catapult in 2003.
In 2005 he received his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, sponsored by Catapult. And he recently completed his Master’s degree in management at George Mason University, with a focus on technology and management. It was a fast-track 18-month program. His Master’s program qualified for Catapult’s tuition reimbursement program.
In addition to professional growth, Bala has also grown personally. He’s “passionate” about Carnatic music (Indian classical) and plays Mridangam, an Indian percussion instrument. He’s also learning Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language, to explore ancient Indian scriptures and the Vedas, a body of texts that originated in ancient India.
Bala and his wife Priya were married in December 2006. An intensive care and emergency medicine physician in India, Priya is applying for residency positions so she can practice medicine in the U.S. Priya is a great vocalist and loves painting, says Bala, and they both enjoy gardening and food.
While Bala gets by on one name, he also lives by one maxim his father taught him: “When you open your mind, the next step will reveal itself.”
Bala is a living example.
