When Rekha Kamat (MSCS ‘05) was a young girl with a budding passion for science and technology, little did she imagine that she would one day become a prominent leader in the technology field. She worked with a single-minded focus and drive at every step of her journey, and success followed.

Today, Kamat is the Global Director of marketing for 3DEXPERIENCE Works at Dassault Systèmes, a science-based company and world leader in providing solutions for innovation, generating more than $5 billion in annual revenue. Her journey began in Mumbai, India, where she recalls watching in awe as NASA’s Sojourner Rover landed on Mars in 1997; she aspired to one day build game changing engineering feats.

“Growing up in India, I focused on education,” said Kamat. “Looking back, I think my passion and sense of purpose shaped my journey.”

Kamat’s family emphasized education from a young age, and in particular her mother — who once aspired to become a doctor herself — encouraged Kamat to pursue a future in STEM, despite the many challenges of entering a male-dominated field.

She became the first woman engineer in her family, graduating from the University of Mumbai with a degree in computer engineering. For advanced studies, Kamat decided to come to America for her masters, intent on building a career at the forefront of innovation.

Presented with many options for her graduate studies, Northeastern appealed to Kamat initially because of its location in Boston; she was inspired by Boston while learning of the American Revolution in history class and its centuries-long role in shaping the science and technology fields. What ultimately set Northeastern apart was the university’s wealth of opportunities and resources in cutting-edge areas of computer science.

“As I was reading up and researching schools, I remember there was an article at that time on Northeastern’s website about Agnes Chan. I also read about their programs in artificial intelligence from Professor Mitchell Wand, and their research in security, which all really attracted me to the school in addition to the opportunity to be in Boston and the campus.”

Her experience with the faculty and opportunities while at Northeastern lived up to her hopes when she first applied, paving the way for her career in STEM.

“The artificial intelligence courses I remember distinctly, learning the Lisp programming language that Professor Wand would teach us at that time. Security was another key field then, and the curriculum and teachings of the professors was innovative and inspiring,” Kamat said.

She accepted a role with Dassault Systèmes after graduating from Northeastern, first working on the research and development team before transitioning to sales industry and business consulting positions within the company.

Today, Kamat oversees 3DEXPERIENCE Works Marketing at corporate group level, including leading and managing geography marketing teams in 12 GEOs across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Her strong technology and sales background give her a unique perspective on how to effectively market the product and lead the strategic business initiatives.

“It’s a definite point of differentiation,” said Kamat. “I can look at how our solutions differentiate and add true value to our clients. I understand it both from the technology perspective, and the sales, business perspective.” Kamat is a lifelong learner, having acquired skills and additional qualifications in artificial intelligence, project management and marketing.

In 2018, Kamat was recognized in Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 annual compendium. She was also among 11 young women globally (and one of two based in the U.S.) to be named Outstanding Rising Talent by the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society at their global conference in Paris, France in 2018.

With her prominent role and influence in the industry, Kamat feels a responsibility to empower the next generation of STEM researchers and advocate for gender equality in the field. Kamat is the head of the Women’s Initiative Americas at Dassault Systèmes. The initiative aims to advocate for women in STEM-based leadership roles and provide resources for women to progress from the grassroots level-upwards.

The artificial intelligence courses I remember distinctly, learning the Lisp programming language that Professor Wand would teach us at that time. Security was another key field then, and the curriculum and teachings of the professors was innovative and inspiring

Kamat has also been a recurring judge for the Congressional App Challenge, a U.S. Congress-sponsored nationwide competition for middle and high school students to encourage STEM, and the Technovation Challenge, an initiative to promote girls’ participation in both entrepreneurship and technology. She also serves on the New England Council’s advisory committee for inclusion and diversity.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since I started,” said Kamat. “Now, we have to look at accelerating the pace”.

And, while Kamat’s contributions to the field of STEM are wide-ranging, she hopes to continue leaving her mark by impacting others.

“Civic engagement is something I’ve been passionate about throughout my journey, even as a child growing up in India, I was volunteering and hopefully making an impact in the community,” said Kamat. “Building an inclusive society is important, including changing the narrative and the stereotypes that we see all around us.”