Our Team
Thiagi
Dr. Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan is the founder and Resident Mad Scientist at The Thiagi Group, an organization with the mission of helping people improve their performance effectively and enjoyably.
Thiagi served as the editor of ISPI's Performance & Instruction for more than 10 years. He has written a monthly GameLetter for 15 years; it currently appears as the GameBlog on this website.
Thiagi has twice been elected the president of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), 27 years apart (in 1979 and 2006). He has also been the five-time president of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA).
As a global nomad, Thiagi has lived in three different countries and has conducted training workshops in 21 others. Earlier in his life, he has been a high-school science teacher, street corner magician, researcher, editor of a professional journal, keynote speaker, college professor, USAID project director, and writer.
Matthew Richter
Matt is the President of The Thiagi Group. He is a facilitator, game designer, instructional designer, and management consultant. Matt has consulted and delivered training with many organizations including Grant Thornton, Twilio, VMWare, SanDisk, Redwood Trust, CenturyLink, Imerys, EA, Microsoft, Carolina Power and Light, IGT, Cadence Design Systems, and Sony. He is an expert in the areas of management, leadership, motivation, and performance technology. Matt mixes corporate, not-for-profit, academic, and independent experience, enabling him to adapt and best serve his clients.
His book, The Leadership Story: A New Model for Leadership was published in 2016. In 2020, he co-authored, LOLA: Live Online Learning Activities with his partner, Sivasailam Thiagarajan (Thiagi).
Matt is co-organizer of LDA (The Learning Development Accelerator), a professional membership group for people in the learning and development field, where we encourage the use of research-inspired and evidence-informed practices.
Matt teaches at EMLyon, in France, as a part of their executive MBA program.
He is a sought-after public speaker and has delivered keynotes and conference presentations for such organizations as the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), Training Magazine, the International Alliance for Learning (IAL), North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA), Influent, and the National Society for Black Engineers. He was the 2006 ISPI National Conference Chair, and was an encore presenter for five years for his presentation Creating a Motivating Environment.
Raja Thiagarajan
Raja Thiagarajan is the Resident Computer Whiz at The Thiagi Group. He has developed and designed many of our computer game shells and software such as Zingo, PuzzleMaker, and the Thiagi Timers. His technical expertise and innovative mind have added immense value to such clients as Agilent, Cadence Design Systems, and Pfizer. He is an expert game designer and facilitator who has co-delivered programs all over the world for such organizations as ASTD, ISPI, and NASAGA. Raja has also served on the Board of Directors for NASAGA.
Raja is a frequent contributing author. Not only has he co-authored a myriad of books with his father, Thiagi, but he has also co-written dozens of articles for books, periodicals, and magazines. His work has been seen in the likes of Performance Intervention Maps, a collection of articles co-published by ISPI and ASTD, and the Training Sourcebook, edited by Mel Silberman and published by ASTD.
Raja is an amateur astrophysicist and a minor expert in science fiction.