THE HOODI LEGACY
Rooted in Hoodi.
Shaped for the World.
Three generations of public service, from a Bengaluru village to the halls of global diplomacy.
Our Name, Our Roots
A Name Carries History
Hoodi is not merely a geographic marker on the eastern edge of modern Bengaluru. It is a covenant with a legacy of principled governance, intellectual courage, and service to the public good that stretches back centuries to the Vijayanagara Empire.
The ancestral landholders of Hoodi village the Jodidhars were granted their custodianship by royal decree for "services rendered to the royalty." Our founders, Ambassador Latha Reddy and Professor Vijay Chandru, are direct descendants of this line. They carry that same ethic of earned trust and public responsibility into every engagement today.
Hoodi Strategy Group was named not for nostalgia, but for accountability to a standard of public service that has been tested over three generations and found worthy of continuation.
What Hoodi Stands For
Three Pillars of the Hoodi Ethos
01
Service Before Self
Dr. H.G.V. Reddy declined a PhD scholarship at the University of Washington to join the IAS and serve a newly independent India. His father before him sat in the Constituent Assembly of India. The Hoodi family has always chosen the harder, more consequential path.
02
Integrity as Architecture
HGV was counselled by the Dewan of Mysore at the start of his career: "Act without delay, interpret rules generously for the citizen, and refuse what is plainly wrong." Over 33 years of service, he never wavered. This philosophy is the structural DNA of HSG.
03
Intellect in Service of Society
From Sanskrit scholarship to cytogenetics to biotechnology entrepreneurship the Hoodi lineage has always pursued knowledge not as an end in itself, but as an instrument of nation-building. HSG continues this tradition through rigorous, applied policy research.
"Being 90 is only a number. To me it has been a most satisfying journey in life over the last 90 years, both family wise and career wise."
Dr. H.G.V. Reddy — On his 90th Birthday
A Chronicle of Service
The Hoodi Legacy Through History
1953
Trade Commissioner, London
Posted to London as Trade Commissioner of Mysore State a role that directly foreshadows HSG's mandate in international trade and diplomacy. Serves until 1957, building the first generation of India's post-independence commercial relationships with Europe.
1975
Honorary Doctorate & Geneva
Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Andhra University for his transformative work on coffee cultivation in tribal belts the Araku region. Subsequently serves at UNCTAD in Geneva. Retires as Secretary for Industries and Commerce, Government of Karnataka.
1982
BDA Chairman & Shaping Modern Bengaluru
Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Andhra University for his transformative work on coffee cultivation in tribal belts the Araku region. Subsequently serves at UNCTAD in Geneva. Retires as Secretary for Industries and Commerce, Government of Karnataka.
Today
Hoodi Strategy Group
Ambassador Latha Reddy (Indian Foreign Service, 1975–2019) and Professor Vijay Chandru (IISc, MIT, Purdue India's first scientist-entrepreneur) carry this legacy forward as founding partners, translating three generations of public service into world-class strategic advisory.
THE PLACE
Where Hoodi Begins
Fifteen kilometres east of the city centre, Hoodi village was the ancestral seat of the Jodidhar family hereditary landholders under a system dating to the Vijayanagara Empire. The land encompassed what is today Mahadevapura, Basavanapura, and parts of east Bengaluru's IT corridor.
On this land, Sri H.R. Guruva Reddy established the Swami Vivekananda Ashrama Trust in the 1970s a living institution of community service that Dr. HGV Reddy served as Managing Trustee for 34 years until his death in 2016.
Hoodi today is a booming tech suburb. But its name, in the context of HSG, carries the weight of centuries: of land stewardship, civic responsibility, and the duty of the capable to serve the many.
THE LINEAGE
The Figures Who Forged the Name
Sri H.R. Guruva Reddy
Jodidhar of Hoodi · Lawyer · Constituent Assembly of India
The patriarch. Scion of Hoodi's Jodidhar family, he graduated from the Maharaja's College Mysore and Bombay Law College to become one of Bangalore's leading civil lawyers. Selected by Dewan Sir Mirza Ismail for the founding development of Gandhinagar, and later served in the Constituent Assembly that gave India its Constitution.
Dr. H.G.V. Reddy IAS (Retd.)
IAS · BDA Chairman · UN UNCTAD · Managing Trustee, Svami Vivekananda Ashrama Trust
A Champion for All Seasons. First Class Honours in Zoology and Sanskrit from Central College. IAS officer who shaped Karnataka's industrial foundations, led the Coffee Board's tribal outreach (forerunner of Araku coffee), served at UNCTAD Geneva, and as BDA Chairman in the 1980s became one of the prime architects of modern Bengaluru's urban fabric. Active until his 90s — winning the Bangalore Golf Club Seniors Trophy with a hole-in-one at age 91.
Ambassador Latha Reddy
IFS · Indian Ambassador to Thailand & Portugal · Deputy National Security Advisor
Following in her father's footsteps, she joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1975. A distinguished career spanning embassies across the globe, she retired as Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs and served as Deputy National Security Advisor. She is active on international commissions for cybersecurity and works on policy with the Observer Research Foundation. Co-founder of HSG.
Professor Vijay Chandru
IISc · MIT · Purdue · India's First Scientist-Entrepreneur
BITS Pilani graduate, MIT PhD, Professor at Purdue University and the Indian Institute of Science. Widely recognised as India's first scientist-entrepreneur for his pioneering work at the intersection of computation and biotechnology. Co-founder and executive advisor of multiple technology enterprises in India and the USA. Adjunct (Emeritus) Professor at IISc. Co-founder of HSG.
VOICES ON THE LEGACY
Those Who Knew the Standard
"HGV embodied the cosmopolitan and courteous ethos of the city... His proactive approach and the passion he brought to his profession can be a source of great inspiration for today's bureaucrats."
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Founder, Biocon · HGV Memorial Lecture, 2021
"The old leaders were of a different creed and were selfless community leaders who sacrificed many things for the sake of the common man."
Sri Ramakrishna Hegde
Former Chief Minister of Karnataka · HGV Father's Centenary
"HGV had the wisdom to see that the citizen must be at the centre. Bengaluru's green cover, its planned roads, its intellectual institutions they are his quiet monuments."
K. Jairaj IAS
Former Chief Secretary, Karnataka · HGV Memorial Lecture, 2017