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Why this Rice alumna chose a food-related career over oil and gas

Venmathy McMahan '05 has two full-time, cross-continental roles owning a granola company and helping industries reduce plastic waste.

Venmathy McMahan headshot

Unlike many students who decide to major in chemical engineering, Venmathy McMahan knew she wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in oil and gas. She minored in environmental engineering.

“I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted my impact on the world to be, but I knew I wanted to make a positive contribution,” said McMahan, who today has two full-time, cross-continental jobs in food-related industries.

McMahan, whose maiden name is Rajarathinam, was born in India and moved with her family to the United States when she was six years old. Her mother is a nurse practitioner and her father, who earned a master’s degree in computer science, worked in telecommunications.

Although she briefly considered following similar careers, McMahan knew she wanted to follow a different path. In high school, her favorite subject was always chemistry and she considered the options that field offered. Rice University was her first choice among universities.

“I looked at the top-20 engineering schools and I loved the atmosphere on the Rice campus. I wanted to be challenged but I didn’t want a hyper-competitive environment,” she said. McMahan earned her B.S. in chemical engineering from Rice in 2005, and five years later her Ph.D. in the same field from Georgia Tech.

After graduating from Georgia Tech, McMahan went to work for Intel Corporation as a process engineer in Hillsboro, Ore., then transferred to their facility in Chandler, Ariz. as a packaging R&D engineer. At Intel, McMahan worked in electronic materials development and process integration for semiconductor packaging. She holds three patents. In 2018, she became executive director of her parents’ daycare center in Cary, N.C. She has two children of her own – a boy now six years old and a daughter, four.

McMahan has two food-related professional roles. She has owned Little Red Wagon Granola in North Carolina since 2020. The business was started in the Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market by a married couple in 2004. The product is sold in specialty groceries across the southeast.

“Food is an essential part of our lives,” she said, “and I love creating a wholesome product for customers to enjoy. We work hard to create a diverse, positive workplace for our employees while running the business in a sustainable and environmentally conscious manner.” 

In her other role, McMahan helps food industries achieve sustainability goals as a platform manager for Footprint, a company based in Gilbert, Ariz.  “Supermarkets and quick service restaurants are where consumers often encounter the most single-use plastics. We help companies transition to fiber solutions that reduce plastic waste,” she said. 

Footprint was recognized in 2021 as a CNBC Disruptor 50 and is expected to become a publicly listed company this year.  “I love working at Footprint,” McMahan said, “because I get to make products that have a positive impact on the planet and provide competitive alternatives to single-use plastics.”