Most Admired Leaders in Phoenix by the Phoenix Business Journal
Thiru Thangarathinam, Founder and CEO of MST Solutions, located in Chandler, Arizona, was reckoned with an award for one of the most admired leaders in Phoenix. This prestigious recognition features 26 business leaders coming from a variety of industries, who have also shown a high amount of community involvement and prominent figures within the Phoenix business community.
Selection Criteria
When selecting these leaders, Phoenix Business Journal looked for certain criteria such as, does he or she create a fun and lively spirited workplace where everyone loves to contribute to the company’s growth? Is there team spirit? And are employees willing to give their best work to the company? Thiru accomplishes this by supporting a growth-mindset culture, focused on hard work, strategic planning, and most importantly collaboration.
Thiru’s Leadership at MST Solutions
Thiru’s compassionate leadership drives accountability at MST Solutions, and drives the staff to want to work hard because they share his pride in ownership. While the staff is focused and hardworking, many would agree that the work environment is enjoyable and far above average. In fact, MST was awarded as one of the best places to work in the Phoenix area. The reason for this can relate back to the leader of the company, and how he encourages work-life balance through office get togethers, a new office featuring a cold-brew system, a video game room, and ping-pong table.
Phoenix Business Journal Q&A
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and from whom? “Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is deeper than any form and untouched by time.” — Eckart Tolle.
What’s the most important trait of a great leader? Ability to listen without judging and giving the gift of complete attention is the most important trait of a great leader.
Toughest moment as a business leader: Some of the business decisions are strictly based on numbers and weren’t easy to make considering the relationship I built with my colleagues over a period of time.
Most rewarding moment as a business leader: Seeing the growth of my colleagues has been a rewarding part of my job.
What mistake did you make early on in your career that you learned from? I made a bunch of mistakes but the important one being letting my biases influence decision making and not having awareness about my biases.
Favorite book on business: “Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz
If you had unlimited funding, what charity would you throw your support behind first? Make A Wish Foundation
One piece of advice you’d give the next generation of leaders: Patience, persistence and perspiration.
What industry you’d try if you started your career again: Homebuilder
MST Solutions Growth
Since its foundation in 2012, Thiru has lead MST Solutions in becoming a leading provider in CRM and marketing automation consulting, specializing in higher education, healthcare, financial services and public-sector solutions. While he demonstrates strong leadership skills, one word many of his employers used to describe him was humble. When Thiru sees someone in need he doesn’t hesitate to step in and help, he always remembers the importance of treating his employees like family and always works to put their needs ahead of his own.
Thiru doesn’t just stop at creating a strong sense of community within the office at MST, he also shows passion to build a better community locally in the Phoenix area. One of MST’s Core Values is “We contribute to a better world by investing in our communities,” and he demonstrates his commitment to this value by donating money and time to local organizations including Feed My Starving Children, Helping Hands for Freedom, SARRC, and supporting the creation of a new program called The KIND Project. Many employees then take after his footsteps and give back to the community as well, by providing volunteer work to some of these local organizations.
About Thiru
Thiru Thangarathinam, Founder and CEO of MST Solutions, was born in India, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering before moving to Arizona. He has worked in IT for over 20 years and is a noted author in technical books, as well as over 140 published articles across leading industry and corporate publications throughout his career. A little over five years ago Thiru left the corporate world to start his own business out of his home office.
MST has three offices, two in India and one in Chandler, AZ and Thiru makes sure that they all share the same sense of family. Through his leadership, it’s no surprise that MST has continued to expand, and has doubled its employees and office space twice in the last eighteen months. Moving through 2018 and into 2019, MST Solutions looks to continue its rapid growth.
