Indian-american Consultant Returns to Chennai After 13 Years in US

Dr Neeraja Nagarajan, a former McKinsey & Company associate partner, returned to India after 13 years in the US, relocating to Chennai three months ago. In a LinkedIn post, she explained her decision, noting that every rational framework — and most well-meaning mentors — said stay. Nagarajan studied public health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, worked at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and spent over seven years at McKinsey, where she rose to associate partner.

She credited the firm with teaching her how to convert ideas into executed outcomes, including initiatives that helped vaccinate large populations. Throughout her time abroad, she kept her Indian passport and never surrendered it, even while holding a US green card. She told her future husband on their first date that her long-term plan was to return home.

Nagarajan said career moves are never purely professional but are tangled with personal and political factors. Her reasons for returning included building something meaningful that widens healthcare access in India, hearing Tamil spoken daily, working with inspiring leaders, and wearing Indian handloom.