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Chandra Narayanan

Co-Founder at Sundial

Chandra Narayanan is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sundial, a company building products to help builders make meaningful use of data to fulfill their mission.2 His career has been marked by significant roles in data analytics and growth across major tech companies.

Career Highlights

Facebook:: Chandra spent 7 years at Facebook, where he led analytics for the Facebook App and Instagram. He served as Director of Analytics from 2010 to 2017, overseeing analytics for Ads, Instagram, Integrity, and Operations.2

Sequoia Capital:: After Facebook, Chandra became the Chief Data Scientist at Sequoia Capital from 2017 to 2019.2 In this role, he developed data models for investment decisions and advised portfolio companies on scaling their products and teams using a data-informed approach.3

Sundial:: In May 2020, Chandra co-founded Sundial, where he currently serves as Co-Founder and Co-CEO.23

Educational Background

Chandra holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography (Chemical and Physical) from the University of Delaware.23 He also has a B.Tech in Naval Architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.2

Early Career

Before his prominent roles in tech, Chandra's career path was quite diverse:

  • Senior Research Scientist at the National Weather Service/SAIC (2003-2007)
  • Faculty/Senior Scientist at Mississippi State University/Center of Higher Learning (2000-2003)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Naval Research Laboratory (1999-2000)
  • Wildlife Supervisor at Tristate Bird Rescue (1994-1999)2

Expertise and Influence

Chandra is recognized as one of the "growth and analytics OGs" in the tech industry. He is known for his insights on data-driven decision making, building world-class teams, and the importance of focusing on impact in analytics and growth roles.1 His experience spans across various domains, including risk management, fraud detection, and ocean weather modeling.2

Highlights

May 20 · linkedin

We are #hiring for Data Scientists in Bangalore. Know anyone who might be interested? Please email at [email protected].

Mar 13 · linkedin

It was an honor to be on The Twenty Minute VC podcast with Harry Stebbings. We spoke about my transitions from building weather models to leading analytics at Facebook/Instagram to building Sundial. We also spoke about influence/impact, building growth/analytics teams, why some senior executives fail and much more. I hope you find it useful. I had a lot of fun. Thanks Alex Schultz for pushing me to do it.

Related Questions

What inspired Chandra to co-found Sundial?
How did Chandra's role at Facebook influence his approach at Sundial?
What are some key challenges Chandra faced at Sequoia Capital?
How does Chandra's background in oceanography contribute to his work in data analytics?
What are the main products or services Sundial offers?
Chandra Narayanan
Chandra Narayanan, photo 1
Chandra Narayanan, photo 2
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Experience

Co-Founder at Sundial (May 2020 - Present)
- Co-Founder at Inspirit.work (Feb 2020 - Dec 2020) - Chief Data Scientist at Sequoia Capital (Sep 2017 - Nov 2019) - Director of Analytics at Facebook (Nov 2014 - Mar 2017, Mar 2010 - Oct 2014) - Sen at Tristate Bird Rescue (Mar 1994 - Feb 1999)

Education

- PhD in Oceanography, Chemical and Physical from the University of Delaware (1991 - 1998) - B. Tech in Naval Architecture from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1987 - 1991) - Indian Institute

Location

Wilton Center, Connecticut, United States