Commodore Venugopal Menon completed ab initio training at the National Defense Academy and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 1979. He served in the Indian Navy for 30 years in various operational roles including commands at sea, training, and staff assignments at Naval Headquarters. Important assignments include Command of three warships, Fleet Operations Officer Eastern fleet, Head of training at the Naval Academy.  Captain, Warship Work Up team East, Joint Director Staff Requirements at Naval Headquarters.   He is a specialist in Anti-Submarine Warfare and is an alumnus of Defense Services Staff College Wellington, College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honolulu, US.  

Post retirement from the Navy, he managed the operations of a shipping company for five years which was engaged in providing logistics to commercial ships and Naval ships which were part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) deployed for anti-piracy patrols in the Persian Gulf. 

His articles on various maritime security issues are published on News line and Rediff.com. He enjoys long distance running and participates regularly in Half Marathons within the country.