# Raghu Raghavan

> Raghu Raghavan founded Act-On in 2008 after co-founding Responsys, where he served as CTO. An IIT Bombay electrical engineering graduate with a computer science PhD from the University of Minnesota, he built marketing software around practical customer workflows and small marketing teams. He moved from Act-On CEO to CTO in 2015, later advised other startups, and is listed by Elevate Capital as Partner Emeritus.

- **Role:** Partner Emeritus at Elevate Capital
- **Organizations:** Act-On Software, Responsys, Elevate Capital, Tamasha Labs, RFPIO (now Responsive), Mentor Graphics, Wyatt Company, UNIVAC
- **Education:** B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Minnesota
- **Known for:** Founded Act-On Software in 2008., Co-founded Responsys, which went public in 2011 and was acquired by Oracle in 2014., Named a 2015 Tech CEO of the Year by the Portland Business Journal.

## Career timeline

- **1983** — Joined Mentor Graphics in Oregon to build its integrated-circuit layout group.
- **1998** — Co-founded Responsys; served as CTO.
- **2008** — Founded Act-On Software.
- **2009** — Declined a $5 million investment offer that required moving Act-On to Silicon Valley.
- **2010** — Act-On raised $4 million from Voyager Capital and U.S. Venture Partners.
- **2011** — Responsys went public; Act-On raised $10 million led by Trinity Ventures.
- **2014** — Oracle completed its acquisition of Responsys; Act-On raised $42 million led by Technology Crossover Ventures.
- **2015** — Moved from Act-On CEO to CTO as Andy MacMillan became CEO in October.
- **2016** — Left Act-On’s operating role at the end of March.

## Achievements

- Founded Act-On Software in 2008.
- Co-founded Responsys, which went public in 2011 and was acquired by Oracle in 2014.
- Named a 2015 Tech CEO of the Year by the Portland Business Journal.
- Act-On ranked No. 492 on the 2015 Inc. 5000.

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Act-On terminated its proposed merger with Banzai on June 6, 2025; the transaction did not close.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghuraghavan

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/raghu-raghavan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26