I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

At a time when the future seems uncertain, Rekha Menon-Varma, a chemical engineering graduate, offers solutions. Vertaeon – the business she co-founded – provides assessment tools and mitigation solutions for risk management. More specifically, Varma’s business focuses on enterprise and supply chain risks and sustainable operations.

Her team has an extensive background in operations, data modeling and corporate strategy. Their software tools offer intuitive, web-based platforms for risk assessment and growth opportunity identification, which they subsequently leverage to turn into strategic recommendations. When the COVID-19 pandemic began to sweep the globe, Vertaeon was called upon by corporate customers to help.

“In the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, we were assessing how this would impact the supply chain in China. Now, we’re working with our European and U.S. partners to also assess impacts on operations, business continuity and consumer confidence,” Varma said.

Varma’s hope is to provide companies with the tools they need to minimize business uncertainty and improve competitive advantage.

She is also working to provide Auburn Engineering students with the tools they need to successfully prepare for entry and find footing in the workforce.

“We are in the process of talking with the College of Engineering’s Career Development and Corporate Relations Office. I think this is the right time because, our business model tackles real-world problems that impact today’s global corporations,” Varma said. “We have the unique opportunity to engage students and train them as they analyze data and work with us to create solutions.”