Reddy spoke during two ceremonies in Purdue's Elliott Hall of Music. He addressed a graduating class that included approximately 1,153 undergraduate degree candidates, 661 master's and 395 doctoral degree-seekers, as well as four Doctor of Nursing Practice degree candidates.

Reddy received his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue in 1987, and he later earned an MBA from the University of Michigan.

He was instrumental in making GVK Industries the largest private airport operator in India. The company owns and operates the Mumbai and Bengaluru airports, which handle over 60 million passengers per year. GVK Industries also has interests in energy, transportation, resources, real estate, hospitality and life sciences.

Reddy founded GVK Biosciences, one of Asia's largest contract research organizations, which employs more than 2,500 scientists. He also is involved with GVK EMRI 108 service, which is the world's largest ambulance service and is offered free of cost to more than 800 million people across India. It is credited with having saved more than one million lives.

He also is a member of the Purdue-India Executive Council, which serves as an advisory board to Purdue on its strategic engagement with the country.

(Article condensed from Purdue University News: "Alumnus, vice chair of Indian conglomerate gives keynote address at Purdue winter commencement")