128 Years of Family Serving Family: Srinivas Vemu, Portfolio Manager, Exchange HQ

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 128 years of family serving family.

Who he is: Srinivas Vemu, portfolio manager, IT, Exchange HQ

Years with the Exchange: 11 years

His background: “I was born and raised in India,” Vemu said. “I was 21 years old when I moved to the U.S. to get my master’s degree in computer engineering in San Antonio.”

What he did at first: He started at the Exchange as a consultant in 1994. “I was treated like family and had never felt that way as a consultant at other companies,” he said.

What he does now: Vemu helps manage the Exchange’s self-checkout and enhancements to point-of-sale systems at the stores. “I make sure that everything is in place to give the customers a smooth experience at checkout,” Vemu said.

Overcoming loss: Since 2020, his team has lost three members, including a remote consultant: Hardy Leenders, Ahmed Al Hameedi and Marc Cameron.

“The toughest thing was to convey the loss to the team since we are very connected with each other,” he said. “Pre-pandemic we did most things as a group like having potlucks where we’d bring foods from our cultures to share.

“We were all sad to lose our teammates, but we honor them every day in our work,” Vemu said.

Speaking at the MSM/GM Conference: Vemu addressed the crowd at the 2023 Main Store Manager/General Manager Conference, sharing more about his role and how the IT directorate supports stores.

“I had never spoken publicly to a large crowd,” he said. “When I walked on the stage, I felt like that was a moment I was living for.”

Family serving family: “It’s an honor to be able to support our Nation’s heroes,” he said. “Irrespective of directorates, we work as one team toward the Exchange’s mission. I’m proud and privileged to take care of military families and our Exchange family.”