Chennai, September 9, 2026: What makes Chennai people tick? Is there something distinctive about the way the city’s people think, build, create and solve problems? Super Chennai seeks to explore these questions through ‘Madras Mindset’, a new fortnightly podcast that brings together people who have built successful careers, companies, institutions and ideas from Chennai and taken their journeys far beyond the city.
The podcast is hosted by Mr.Vijay Gopalan, seasoned business leader and former CFO of AirAsia India. The inaugural episode features Mr.Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder and CEO of AgniKul Cosmos, whose journey from Chennai to building one of India’s prominent space-technology ventures offers a compelling starting point for the series.
Rather than simply documenting success stories, Madras Mindset looks at what lies behind them: the choices, setbacks, influences, turning points, and values that shape the way people build. The conversations ask a larger question: does Chennai have a distinctive mindset, and if so, what does it look like?
The conversation with Ravichandran looks beyond AgniKul Cosmos’ entrepreneurial journey to examine the experiences, influences, and decisions that shaped his approach to building a deep-tech company from Chennai. His story sets the tone for a series that seeks to understand whether there are common traits shared by people who have built enduring ventures from the city.
Mr. Ranjeeth Rathod, Managing Director, Super Chennai, said, “Chennai has produced remarkable entrepreneurs, business leaders, creators, scientists and institution-builders, but many of their stories remain known only in fragments. With Madras Mindset, we wanted to create a platform that goes beyond celebrating achievement to understand the thinking behind it. What did Chennai teach them? What did they carry from the city? And how did those influences shape what they went on to build? These are the conversations we hope to bring to a wider audience through the series.”
Speaking about the podcast, Mr.Vijay Gopalan, Seasoned business leader and former CFO of AirAsia India, said, “I grew up in Madras and built my career in Chennai. Over the years, I have spent a great deal of time understanding businesses and what makes organisations and leaders work. I have been passionate about bringing the story of captains and achievers who have
contributed to nation-building and created a lasting legacy from this city. Madras Mindset is an attempt to explore that mindset through conversations with people who have built remarkable journeys from this city. I hope these conversations reveal not just what they achieved, but the thinking, experiences, and values that shaped how they got there.
Watch Episode 1 of Madras Mindset: https://youtu.be/7C-2fIv4oZE?si=Q9OyWxzvphcziqiZ.
Over the coming episodes, Madras Mindset will bring together voices from entrepreneurship, technology, business, creative industries, sport, culture and institution-building. While each guest will have a different journey, the series will look for the influences and experiences that connect them from the city’s educational and institutional foundations to its culture of resilience, community and long-term thinking. The upcoming episode features Krish Subramanian, Co-founder & CEO of Chargebee, and will air on 5 September 2026.
About Super Chennai:
Super Chennai is a social impact initiative launched by CREDAI Chennai, aimed at redefining Chennai as a vibrant, future-ready global city. Unveiled by Tamil Nadu Former Chief Minister M. K. Stalin at the FAIRPRO 2025 real estate exposition in February 2025, Super Chennai serves as a citizen-driven movement to showcase the city’s strengths across technology (especially SaaS), manufacturing, medical innovation, culture, sports, food, and safety. Through its digital-first push, it facilitates real-time updates, events, awareness campaigns, and volunteer engagement, inviting students, entrepreneurs, artists, and residents to contribute to elevating Chennai’s global profile. The initiative emphasizes civic pride, inclusivity, and community participation, offering a dynamic narrative of the city that is bold, evolving, and proudly modern.
