Manoj Koruthu George Obituary

Manoj Koruthu George peacefully departed this life to be with our Lord on the morning of February 5, 2022, in Cary, NC following a brave two-and-a-half-year battle with pancreatic cancer. As a lifelong Christian with deep conviction in our Lord, Manoj was at peace with God's will as he battled his illness.

Born on March 30, 1967, in Puthencavu, Kerala, Manoj was the first-born son of M.K. George and Mary Oommen. Raised in a supportive, loving family who knew the Lord and trusted God in all things, Manoj was a curious, energetic, caring, highly intelligent, responsible adventurer with a quirky sense of humor. These traits would follow him throughout his entire life.

After earning his bachelor's degree and MBA from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, Manoj began his professional career with the Hayflich and Steinberg accounting firm. In reflection, Manoj was very grateful for the guidance and support he received from Michael Gerber, a partner at Hayflich who unfortunately ended his own battle with pancreatic cancer on February 6, 2020. In March of 1997, Manoj left the comfortable CPA firm for the adventure and challenges of a scrappy, 20 employee startup with high ambitions and an uncertain revenue model. As the founding CFO of Red Hat, Manoj shored up the finances with one of the first SAAS subscription revenue models in the software industry. The company valuation soared from $5 million to $5 billion under his guidance, culminating in a successful IPO. During his time at Red Hat, Manoj met Bob Young and Matthew Szulik, along with many other lifelong friends, mentors, and coaches. Manoj's success in taking the company public catapulted him into the stratosphere of sought-after financial experts. He would go on to turn around several businesses, stabilize revenues, and create success in a variety of environments. Manoj loved to "create success," and says he was blessed by the grace of God to be able to do so. Manoj also got tremendous satisfaction out of developing protegees and mentoring entrepreneurs. He saw himself as being able to give people a break and an opportunity to grow, and said he took a chance on people because, throughout his career, people took a chance on him.

He felt that all his colleagues took this journey with him and was grateful for their support.

Being family oriented was one of the traits Manoj admired most in leaders and mentors. Family was very important to him because, as he was creating success at Red Hat, he married and started a family with the love of his life Sheela Rachael Varughese. Manoj and Sheela would go on to raise four beautiful and brilliant children, Rachel, Elizabeth, Sarah and Thomas. Manoj stayed active in every aspect of his family's life. He attended events, escorted his daughters to dances, spent time at schools, supported performances, helped with college applications, went to graduations, and made sure to be as great a father, husband, and son as he possibly could. He loved their life in North Carolina where they got to spend time in the community, with extended family, and stay active at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church.

Throughout his illness the prayers, phone calls, texts, emails, visits, cards, and conversations, from friends, family, and neighbors uplifted and sustained Manoj. He was also extremely grateful for the excellent care he received from Dr. Peter Allen, Dr. James Abbruzzese, and the entire Duke Health team.

Manoj was preceded in death by his grandparents, Thomas and Rachel Koruthu and Kora and Aleyamma Oommen. He leaves to cherish his memory his wife of 25 years, Sheela; their children, Rachel, Elizabeth, Sarah and Thomas; his parents, M.K. and Mary George; his brothers Binoj, Sunoj and family, and a host of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.