Software Lifecycle Stories

Her early inspiration while growing up in Goa with limited exposure to career options. Her Father's intellectual influence despite personal hardships and shift in focus to technology.Personal tragedy sparked a resolve to become financially independent and learn deeply.Inspirational quote that shaped her mindset: “Even if your dreams haven't come true, be grateful that so haven't your nightmares.”Her first role at a startup with Hands-on work with networking protocols (LDAP, VPN, DNS). Learning using only RFCs and O'Reilly books—no StackOverflow! Importance of building deep expertise for long-term success.Experiences with Troubleshooting and System Thinking; Transitioned from reactive fixes to logical, structured problem-solving. Her depth of understanding helped in debugging and system optimization.Career move to Yahoo where she led Service Engineering for mobile and ads across global data centers got early exposure to big data and machine learning through ad recommendation systems and built "performance and scale muscle" through working at massive scale.Challenges of Scale and Performance Then vs. Now: Problems remain the same, but data volumes and complexity have exploded. How modern tools (like AI/ML) can help identify relevance and anomalies in large data sets.Design with Scale in Mind - Importance of flipping the design approach: think scale-first, not POC-first. Encourage starting with a big-picture view, even when building a small prototype. Highlights multiple scaling dimensions—data, compute, network, security.Getting Into ML and Data Science with early spark from MOOCs, TensorFlow experiments, and statistics; Transition into data science role at Infoblox, a cybersecurity firm with focus areas on DNS security, anomaly detection, threat intelligence.Building real-world ML model applications like supervised models for threat detection and storage forecasting; developing graph models to analyze DNS traffic patterns for anomalies and key challenges of managing and processing massive volumes of security data.Data stack and what it takes to build data lakes that support ML with emphasis on understanding the end-to-end AI pipelineShifts from “under the hood” ML to front-and-center GenAI & Barriers: Data readiness, ROI, explainability, regulatory compliance.Explainability in AI and importance of interpreting model decisions, especially in regulated industries.How Explainability Works -Trade-offs between interpretable models (e.g., decision trees) and complex ones (e.g., deep learning); Techniques for local and global model understanding.Aruna's Book on Interpretability and Explainability in AI Using Python (by Aruna C).The world of GenAI & Transformers - Explainability in LLMs and GenAI: From attention weights to neuron activation.Challenges of scale: billions of parameters make models harder to interpret. Exciting research areas: Concept tracing, gradient analysis, neuron behavior.GenAI Agents in Action - Transition from task-specific GenAI to multi-step agents. Agents as orchestrators of business workflows using tools + reasoning.Real-world impact of agents and AI for everyday lifeAruna Chakkirala is a seasoned leader with expertise in AI, Data and Cloud. She is an AI Solutions Architect at Microsoft where she was instrumental in the early adoption of Generative AI. In prior roles as a Data Scientist she has built models in cybersecurity and holds a patent in community detection for DNS querying. Through her two-decade career, she has developed expertise in scale, security, and strategy at various organizations such as Infoblox, Yahoo, Nokia, EFI, and Verisign. Aruna has led highly successful teams and thrives on working with cutting-edge technologies. She is a frequent technical and keynote speaker, panelist, author and an active blogger. She contributes to community open groups and serves as a guest faculty member at premier academic institutes. Her book titled "Interpretability and Explainability in AI using Python" covers the taxonomy and techniques for model explanations in AI including the latest research in LLMs. She believes that the success of real-world AI applications increasingly depends on well- defined architectures across all encompassing domains. Her current interests include Generative AI, applications of LLMs and SLMs, Causality, Mechanistic Interpretability, and Explainability tools.Her recently published book linkInterpretability and Explainability in AI Using Python: Decrypt AI Decision-Making Using Interpretability and Explainability with Python to Build Reliable Machine Learning Systems  https://amzn.in/d/00dSOwAOutside of work, she is an avid reader and enjoys creative writing. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, she is actively involved in GHCI, LeanIn communities.

I am in conversation with Deepak Mittal, CEO of FFTalos Technologies. In this insightful episode, Deepak Mittal shares his career journey from coding to consultative selling, reflecting on his evolution from a tech enthusiast to a sales leader driving large-scale digital transformation. He explores solution-based selling, the importance of understanding customer needs, and why sales is more about facilitation than persuasion.More specifically, he covers: His Origin Story: From engineering and coding in the early IT days to discovering his passion for customer interactions. Tech vs. Sales: The shift from writing software to understanding business problems and shaping solutions. Consultative vs. Product-Based Selling: The difference between pitching features vs. uncovering customer pain points. Customer Empathy & Industry Knowledge: Why asking the right questions & listening is more powerful than a polished pitch. Building Relationships in Sales: The role of trust, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement in long-term success. The Modern Buyer: How the digital era has transformed customer research & purchasing behavior. Enterprise Selling Strategies: The contrast between RFP-driven sales and proactive relationship-building. Navigating Internal Trust in Sales & Delivery Teams: Why sales & delivery alignment is critical for customer success. The Human Side of Selling: Managing rejections, pressures, and the art of influencing without being pushy.Deepak has over his career, worked in IT sector focusing on Technology, Media & Telecommunication(TMT) businesses, in sales, business development & practice leadership roles. His experience across IT Services Companies, Managed Services Providers and Product Vendors, has given him a unique 360 degrees insight into IT solutions and how they fit into larger business landscape.He has worked across global markets and delivered significant results, in a period of great technological flux and business volatility within TMT sector. His experience has given him a good exposure & proficiency in the following areas–1. Understanding and managing digital transformation and its impact on business strategies as well as on the workplace.2. Understanding business drivers and their correlation with IT and Technology strategies.3. Execution of IT & Technology strategy on-ground.4. Understanding & enabling eco-systems to drive business outcomes.5. Building & motivating high performing global teamsHe has always tried to anchor his work in business fundamentals like customer experience, profitability & market share and leveraging technology into driving business outcomes.https://www.linkedin.com/in/demittal/

My guest today is Jake McKee, a pioneer in the modern customer community movement.In this conversation, he shares: Hiss Origin Story: His unique career bridging product design, engineering, and community strategy. Community-Driven Product Development: How companies can embed passionate customers in the development cycle. Empathy & Relationship Building: The importance of emotional connection between brands, engineers, and users. Community Across Industries: From B2B to B2C, physical products to software, communities play a crucial role in success. Brand Strength vs. Community Engagement: Why brand prestige isn't necessary—what matters is purpose and connection. Breaking Silos Within Organizations: How community initiatives foster collaboration across different departments. Harnessing Collective Knowledge: Using communities to gather insights, troubleshoot issues, and enhance product adoption. Leading Indicators vs. Reactive Responses: Using community feedback to detect trends before they become business problems. AI in Community Management: How AI can augment but not replace human relationships in communities.‍ What Makes a Great Community Manager? Perseverance, empathy, and communication are key traits for success.Jake McKee is one of the founders of the modern customer community movement. He led Apple's famed Global Support Communities. He pioneered efforts at LEGO to engage its adult users in a community - which spawned breakthrough innovations such as the Mindstorms Community Driven Product Development (which landed on the cover of Wired Magazine). For more than 10 years, Jake has been a leading industry community consultant working with clients like Cancer Treatment Centers of America, EA Games, Southwest Airlines, and Outdoorsy. His consulting practice, Jake McKee Consulting focuses on helping organizations of all sizes design, execute, and grow Community Driven Product Development programs that bring the Community Voice into the product development lifecycle.Jake also manages the CX Sessions project, an invitation-only monthly dinner series that brings senior online community, CX, and product management leaders together for conversation, connection, and camaraderie. And just for laughs, he created a web comic for community managers called Confessions of a Community Manager. https://jakemckee.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakemckee/

My guest today is Stamatis Astra is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Intelligent Relations. In this freewheeling conversation, he talks about:Introduction & Origin StoryStamatis shares his varied career journey, starting in theater before transitioning into technology and entrepreneurship.Reflects on early internet days, the rise of e-commerce, and parallels with today's AI revolution.Entrepreneurial Mindset & Product BuildingThe core skills of entrepreneurship remain the same, whether in film or software—raising funds, pitching ideas, and building belief.Confidence, resilience, and timing play crucial roles in success.Theater vs. Business—Script vs. ImprovIn acting, a defined script brings clarity, whereas business requires improvisation based on data and insights.Sales and investor pitches require a structured approach, but product development thrives on innovation and open-ended discussions.Remote Work & Leadership ChallengesDiscusses difficulties of leading distributed teams without face-to-face interaction.Emphasizes the need for engaged communication, structured meetings, and keeping discussions interactive.The Intersection of Media, AI & EntrepreneurshipShares insights from his role as a venture partner and a radio host—both involve asking deep, thought-provoking questions.Talks about Intelligent Relations, a PR SaaS company leveraging AI to democratize media access.AI's Role in Public RelationsAI helps connect brands with journalists through automation and data-driven personalization.PR success hinges on storytelling—brands must embed themselves in the news cycle, not just promote their offerings.Career Opportunities in Public RelationsTraditional PR relied on communication specialists; today, data engineers play a vital role.Engineers help structure outreach for journalists, influencers, and media platforms.Personal Philosophy & Staying GroundedThe importance of family, health, and knowing the deeper motivation behind success.Business challenges come and go, but fundamental values remain the same.Stamatis Astra, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Intelligent RelationsStamatis Astra is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Intelligent Relations, where he drives the company's mission to transform public relations through AI-powered technology and expert insights. With over 20+ years of experience in media and business strategy, Stamatis is fully committed to making earned media accessible to all businesses, helping them build meaningful connections with the media and tell impactful stories.

Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Deeksha Senguttuvan, Founder and CEO of BabyMD and executive trustee for a pediatric cancer foundation . Deeksha brings her authentic self to share powerful stories of personal transformation, entrepreneurial grit, and unwavering compassion for children's health.Some highlights from the conversation Deeksha started her Career Journey in software industry Pivot to Healthcare due to circumstances that have presentedDeeksha describes herself as someone who never had a fixed plan but followed what made sense in the moment.After a chemical engineering degree from NIT Trichy and an MBA from IIM Kozhikode, she joined the Tata Administrative Services and worked in marketing and product management.Despite no tech background, she led cloud product management, learning tech concepts from scratch and bridging the gap between sales and engineering teams.A personal life event led her to seek more meaningful work,  Inspired by her pediatrician father, she co-founded a trust supporting pediatric cancer treatment in Trichy, where specialty care was lacking.Deeksha led digital transformation at Kaveri Hospital during COVID, building a patient-focused digital strategy that included basics like WhatsApp-based communication — revolutionary at that time.Motivated to align business success with patient well-being, she pursued a second MBA at Wharton to understand global healthcare and startup ecosystems.During her MBA, she pivoted her focus back to India after realizing her strengths and market understanding were more aligned with the Indian healthcare contextShe founded BabyMD during her time at Wharton and graduated early to work full-time on it from January 2024.Deeksha emphasizes the importance of credentials and networks (like Wharton) in breaking barriers and gaining investor trust.She met her investor through the Wharton alumni network, which led to a partnership based on mutual interest in pediatric healthcare.She advises entrepreneurs to articulate three things: a real problem, market size, and why they're uniquely positioned to solve it.Advocates for volunteering as a personal and professional growth tool, linking social work with stronger leadership and empathy. Advice for Aspiring EntrepreneursRange by David Epstein – on the value of generalists in today's world.Entrepreneurship doesn't always stem from a “Eureka” moment — it can be a structured, analytical process.Encourages small experiments to validate ideas before going all in.Believes generalists (with wide-ranging experience) bring unique value to entrepreneurship, as explained in the book Range.Deeksha can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/deekshasenguttuvan/Deeksha is Building BabyMD to be a partner in parenting and give parents easy round-the-clock access to qualified medical professionals across channels. The company's goal is to create a future where parents don't have to navigate through multiple avenues for their child's healthcare needs and instead find everything they require under one roof.Executive leader with 7+ years of experience building and transforming businesses. I am passionate about utilising technology in the healthcare ecosystem to improve accessibility, affordability and quality of care.As a part of the leadership development program of The Tata Group of companies in India I have worked across various industries and functions; utilised my diverse exposure to orchestrate the digital transformation of hospitals across patient engagement, clinical quality of care, and operational activities to make them future-ready.Outside of work I am an avid Indian classical dancer and a public speaker passionate about motivating and mentoring!

Shiv is in conversation with Allen Cooper, President and CEO of Ancilla Ventures. Their focusis in providing tools to healthcare support staff to improve patient outcomes.In this conversation, Allen talks about:Allen's Origin Story: Transitioning from accounting to computer science, and entering the consulting world at Anderson Consulting (now Accenture).Consulting to Startups: The transition from corporate consulting to entrepreneurship.Building Ancilla: How Allen became a partner and eventually the sole proprietor.Choosing Healthcare Tech: The path to focusing on healthcare IT solutions.Finding Industry Problems: How products like WriteList and VR-90 were born.User Adoption Challenges: Strategies for getting hospital staff to engage with software solutions.Managing Development Team Motivation: Keeping engineers engaged despite stable enterprise tech.Scrum & Agile Benefits: How these methodologies helped balance planned work and incoming client requests.AI & Coding: How AI might change development roles, but won't replace programmers entirely.Advice for IT Careers: Guidance for both new entrants and mid-career professionals wondering about their next steps.Personal Productivity & Balance: Allen's tips for staying organized, healthy, and grounded while running a company.Allen Cooper is the Co-Founder and CEO of ReadyList, Inc., a mobile-friendly software that transforms how hospital ancillary and support service teams operate. Allen co-founded ReadyList with a deep passion for helping the behind-the-scenes workers who keep hospitals running smoothly. ReadyList's software modules guide them through best-practice cleaning and room prep protocols, resulting in cleaner, safer facilities for both patients and staff. Allen believes the right kind of software can save hospital systems money, time, and even lives. https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-cooper-4a07598

Shiv is in conversation with Mathias Buus Madsen, CEO of Holepunch, Copenhagen. In this episode, Mathias shareshis journey into software development, beginning as a math student and evolving into a passionate advocate for peer-to-peer technology. He explains the foundational concepts behind peer-to-peer systems, their advantages over centralized models, and their applications in both personal and enterprise use. Mathias discusses how these decentralized systems enhance security, minimize infrastructure costs, and improve accessibility—especially for remote or underserved communities. He also compares peer-to-peer networking with blockchain, clarifying the distinct roles each technology plays. He touched on real-world applications of peer-to-peer tech, including its potential for rural connectivity and resilience in low-bandwidth environments. Mathias also reflects on his transition from hacker to entrepreneur, sharing insights into leadership, scaling a business, and the evolving landscape of decentralized internet solutions.As CEO of Holepunch, Mathias brings his passion and extensive expertise in open-source development to the fore, having published more than 1000 modules to npm, the Node.js package manager, totalling billions of downloads every month.Mathias Buus is a self taught JavaScript hacker from Copenhagen. He works full time on open source projects and has been working with Node.js since the 0.2 days. Mathias likes to work with P2P and distributed systems and is the author of more than 550 modules on npm, including some of the most popular ones for working with streams. In addition he has spoken about “mad science” projects at various conferences around the world.You can also see his Github here:https://github.com/mafintosh and more info on Pear Runtime here: https://docs.pears.com/. Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Pears_p2pSocial - Mathias X: @mafintoshPears X: @Pears_p2pKeet X: @keet_io

I am in conversation with Sundar Rajan, a serial entrepreneur, currently the founder of OneMyle, a platform that seeks to address the needs of hyperlocal digital marketing in neighborhoods. He was earlier the co-founder of JustBooks, a lending library chain, supported by an innovative technology platform.Sundar reflects on his journey from a software developer to an entrepreneur, sharing his experiences and challenges along the way:Early Career in IT:He worked in IT, building software for banking and financial services.His exposure to implementation and user experience shaped his professional growth.Transition to Entrepreneurship:His entrepreneurial journey began unexpectedly with a family-run library project, Just Books, which turned out to be a success.He faced challenges balancing a job with entrepreneurship and gradually pivoted to focus on growing the library business.Expansion and Challenges of Just Books:The business grew organically to over 60 libraries across cities, driven by franchising.He adapted to changes like the rise of digital books and evolving customer behaviors.Shift to OneMyle:After exiting Just Books, he started OneMyle, a digital marketing platform aimed at connecting local businesses, communities, and creators.He shared insights into shaping the platform, testing features, and learning to target specific personas, including local creators.Personal Practices and Reflections:Sundar emphasized the importance of reading code, context switching, and his method of note-taking (emails to himself) as tools for managing stress and priorities.He candidly discussed the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship and the learning process involved.Sundar Rajan is an Entrepreneur, Co-Founder Onemyle, JustBooksTechnology & Entrepreneurship remain big areas of interest.Worked in IT industry for 15 years, before turning Entrepreneur.While in IT, was involved in software product development for financial services industry. As an Entrepreneur, have keen interest in 'Neighborhoods', especially the interaction between local businesses and residents nearby.https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsundarrajan/r.sundar@onemyle.com

Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Sunil (SKG) Gupta, Senior Director in Cognizant and author of the book “Unlock Yourself” about creating a purpose led and fun filled life — a seasoned corporate leader with over three decades of experience spanning supply chain, IT-BPM, SaaS platforms, and now, marketing and influencer relations at Cognizant.Some highlights from the conversation has two major parts A Career Built on Transitions and Reinvention and making of the authorSunil started his career in the early 1990s in procurement, choosing the lesser-known path at a time when everyone else was aiming for sales, marketing, or R&D. His instinct for building structured systems began even then.By the late 90s, he was part of one of India's earliest experiments with reverse auctions and e-procurement, trained on platforms like Ariba before they became mainstream — gaining domain expertise that would shape the next phase of his career.Sunil joined the IT-BPM world in 1999, sparked by a newspaper ad that challenged readers to rethink their role during the Internet boom. From there, he helped set up B2B digital platforms across multiple sectors, including food and manufacturing.One of his standout projects was setting up a fully hosted commodity futures exchange, offering not just software but an end-to-end platform-as-a-service (long before SaaS became a buzzword).At Cognizant, Sunil spent over a decade building enterprise architecture and consulting practices, including growing a team of 300+ technology and business architects. He played a key role in setting up frameworks that bridged technology with real business impact.He later moved to the Philippines, taking on leadership roles in BPO services and transformation, and now works in marketing and analyst relations, helping position Cognizant's offerings with global firms like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC.The Making of an Author – Unlock Yourself:Sunil's book is a blend of personal introspection, professional learning, and tools for self-coaching.He introduces the RADHA framework – Reflect, Ask, Decide, Help, Act – to guide people through change and self-discovery.A strong advocate for neurodiversity and learning with compassion, Sunil discusses how society needs to reframe what “normal” means in both education and the workplace.His approach to writing and self-reflection was deeply influenced by the Theory of Constraints, coaching experiences, and even NFT community dynamics as an example of meaningful online engagement.Key Takeaway Moments:“Procurement taught me how systems work — and how people work within those systems.”“I realized I've always been in procurement… even when I didn't know it — we're all negotiating in life and work.”“My transition from technology to marketing feels as exciting as my first job — it's like starting fresh, but with wisdom in your backpack.”“Ask for help. Not because you're weak, but because you were never meant to do this alone.”A fresh take on fulfillment, success, and redefining “being number one”Sunil Gupta, also known as SKG, is a vibrant lifestyle step- up coach and a seasoned expert with over three decades in business strategy, program management, and corporate real estate. An IIT Kanpur alum, Sunil has enhanced his credentials with leadership programs from Symbiosis, Harvard Business Publishing, TinyMagiq, and SnehWorld. He volunteers with unicorn incubator IIT Startups and the Art of Living, Philippines. Sunil's personal advocacy is guiding first generation graduate girl students - whom he fondly calls as #BiryaniGirls.Known for his playful nature in childhood, Sunil worked diligently through high school and eventually graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the esteemed IIT Kanpur in 1992. He later, in 2003, completed a PG in InternationalTrade from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies and in 2021, completed an Executive Leadership Development program by Harvard Business Publishing and subsequentlya 7-day residential TrainTheTrainer (T3P) program by Sneh Desai & team.Sunil boasts over three decades of experience in multiple industries with a focus on business strategy, portfolio & program management, corporate real estate & workplace management and sourcing. Besides his work, Sunil lendshis expertise to unicorn incubator IIT Startups as a mentor and also provides career guidance to first-generation female students, the ‘BiryaniGirls'. In his personal life, Sunil is anavid follower of The Art of Living teachings and has actively volunteered with their Philippines chapter. His journey to find life's meaning led him to establish the #PurposeProject, a venture to help people discover and live their true calling. Over the years Sunil has contributed to multiplewhitepapers and leading books on Theory of Constraints & Business Transformation. At present he is working on multiple books on personal development, goal setting, habit forming and purposeful living in what he calls as #TheNewAge - the era of uncertainties with immense promises and threats. Sunil is also preparing to launch his NFT Art & short story collection.Sunil is a staunch believer in the power of community and is dedicated to making a positive global impact through his work. He's deeply grateful to his mentors, family, friends, andcolleagues for their influence on his life and success.He considers himself to be a lover, actor, trader, teacher, peaceful warrior, saint, and prince, albeit with a fear of snakes, heights, and loneliness. He enjoys yoga, dogs, cycling, badminton, AI art & story creation, movies, cricket, and human connection. Connect with him if you're seeking someone who's passionate, driven, and a bit quirky!Sunil can be contacted at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilkguptaskg/https://sunilkgupta.com interests / passionhttps://www.amazon.in/Unlock-Yourself-New-Age-Dialogues/dp/9360068152 - Unlock yourself in the new age - a book rooted in self-awareness, neurodivergence, personal rituals, and authentic transformation. In this conversation, he shares not just career milestones but the values and frameworks that shaped his journey.

My guest today is David Young,Founder at Federated Computer. He has been a pioneer in cloud computing even before the term was invented. In fact, he and his team helped invent the term.In this conversation we could recall many of the developments of a couple of decades ago as well as what keeps him engaged now, at Federated computer.During this conversation, David touches upon:Introduction and Early Career JourneyTransition to Silicon Valley and StartupsContrast Between Corporate and Startup LifeFinding Problems to SolveCustomer Empathy and Team DynamicsChallenges with Open Source AdoptionAI, Open Source, and Future PotentialCareer Tips for IT and Open Source EnthusiastsDavid shares his practices and tips to Stay GroundedAbout David:CEO and founder of Joyent — the folks who invented node.js, helped stand up Twitter and the Facebook developer platform, and brought containers to market leading to the Kubernetes revolution. Seven patents. Very experienced raising and deploying venture capital. Sold Joyent to Samsung in 2016.Started an ultra-premium ice cream company (Honeymoon Brands). Invented unique manufacturing products and processes to put ice cream in glass jars, got in to 700 grocery stores in the West, and learned grocery was a blast. Sold the company in 2018.I've recently started an agency (Endurancy: https://www.endurancy.com) to take the marketing success I developed at Honeymoon and offer small and medium-sized brands AI-based marketing capabilities.I'd love to work with a promising company as it develops and grows. I can bring a wealth of experience, mistakes, learnings in fundraising, product and marketing strategy, business and corporate development, engineering development to the company to help it go faster and smarter.You can reach him @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpaulyoung/

Today, as part of the women's special series in March, 2025, Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Karthik Karunakaran(KK), CEO, co-founder of Mobius software and chief strategist Xtract.io, male ally for women continuing their career  and a serial entrepreneur talks about his career journey.  KK started his career in Tata Steel after completing production engineering in NIT Trichy and management in XLRI Jamshedpur. KK shares his belief in 'Make in India' and how he stayed true to his roots, influenced by Jamshedji Tata early onKarthik shares his evolution from a tech enthusiast to a serial entrepreneur and co-founded Mobius Software, Overcoming the challenges of building a startup, especially after his education-focused venture didn't scale as expected.Talks about the lessons learned from previous education based ventures and how they shaped his approach to business.Discusses how he bootstrapped his business in the early days, even covering costs by tutoring students for the CAT exam.Experimented with team structures to create a more agile and inclusive work environment.Focused on product innovation, testing different technology stacks and market strategies.Implemented flexible work policies to support women professionals, ensuring career continuity.Shares how over 80% of Mobius Software's workforce consists of women, with a strong focus on hiring from Tier 2 cities where untapped talent is availableKK talks about why he champions women in the Workforce and actively supports women's career continuity and workplace inclusion.Believes in equal opportunities and creating a supportive work environment.Discusses the importance of mentorship and policies that help retain women in tech.KK shares some of the challenges in the Startup Ecosystem on funding, scaling, and leadership in the tech industry.Shares about the biases women face in entrepreneurship and how male allies can help.KK concludes with the Advice for Women Professionals as he Encourages women to build strong networks and seek mentorship and advocates for confidence and risk-taking in career growth.Emphasizes the need for organizations to rethink policies to support women returning to work.Karthik Karunakaran is the CEO of Mobius Knowledge Services. He is the driving force behind Mobius being a leader unstructured data processing and public information aggregation. He is also the founder of Xtract.io, a GenAI driven hyperautomation platform that is focussed on agenticAI processes . The firms' success is attributed to innovative solutions and proprietary technology in the data services area serving various industry giants across geographies. With a strong presence in fields like Information & Media, Retail/Ecommerce and Financial Services, Mobius mission is to empower clients through cutting-edge data solutions. Karthik, KK as he's fondly referred by friends, has co-founded education firm,fourth R India before embarking into the knowledge services domain.KK has graduated from National Institute of Technology, Trichy in production engineering and management from XLRI Jamshedpur in Marketing and Finance.Karthik can be contacted at https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthik-karunakaran/

Today, as part of the women's special series in March, 2025, my guest is Veena Rao, SVP & Global Head, Corporate Lending at Finastra with over 25 years' of experience in financial services and banking technology.In this conversation Veena sharesHer early influences and being adaptableHer education and career pathHer philosophy re career growthInsights from her leadership journeyHow to handle work-life integration aspectsOn Global experience and being sensitive to cultural nuancesHow she stays resilient and some personal practices that have been effective for herAnd some tips for aspiring women professionalsVeena is the SVP & Global Head, Corporate Lending at Finastra with over 25 years' of experience in financial services and banking technology. Veena started her career with India's leading private sector bank, ICICI Bank, working in diverse areas like project finance, corporate banking, forex treasury and relationship banking. She managed Presales for FLEXCUBE at i-flex solutions (Oracle) followed by a stint in HCL Technologies to launch the product incubation unit for banking. In her current role at Finastra, Veena holds end to end accountability for the Corporate Lending business across product, engineering, services and support. She is passionate about nurturing innovation at the grassroots focusing on ideas that create positive impact for Finastra's customers . She is also a mentor in Finastra's D&I program, and an active speaker at various conferences on digital transformation and open banking.linkedin.com/in/veena-rao-profile

Today, as part of the women's special series in March, 2025, Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Ponni Krishnamoorthy, Director and Global head of Telco cloud in Nokia talks about breaking societal expectations to achieving career goals - Ponni shares about her humble background and Her roots in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, and how her upbringing shaped her career choices and Ponni's career journey from NIT Trichy to becoming Director at Nokia.- Ponni shares her Being the first woman engineer in her extended family.- Initial societal expectations (suggestions to become a teacher or doctor).- Love for math, problem-solving, and coding led her to engineering.- Ponni shares her Career Growth & Transition from software engineer and her inspiration to be a coding guru- She started her career with Siemens Communication Software as a developer and slowly shifted into techno-management after earning an MBA from IIM Bangalore while working full-time.- Ponni shares stories of her transition from developer to global technology leadership.- Ponni talks about taking different roles in the same firm such as global product development and end-to-end project ownership- Pooni shares her Experience with mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and predicting industry trends.- She talks about operational challenges and Leading teams across multiple countries (Finland, India, China, US) and working through sanctions during the Iraq-Iran war.- Ponni talks about Early involvement in digital twin technology (before it became mainstream).-Importance of creating a culture of problem-solving & dreaming big.- Ponni talks about her role in University Engagement & Mentorship while encouraging students and young professionals to take risks.- Pooni shares her career advice and Leadership Lessons on the importance of patience and long-term growth, avoiding the trap of jumping jobs for short-term gains.- She also shares her learning from each role before moving up the ladder and defining personal success metrics rather than following trends.Ponni is Director of Telco Cloud Data center and Telecom Test networks with Mobile Networks business group, Nokia - Leading R&D Telco cloud data centers and services across 8 countries- Leading the unit of end-to-end telecom test networks for testing of Nokia products and solutions- Leading University Collaboration platform for Nokia Bangalore - connecting universities, Professional organizations , Research & management institutes- Leading global and cross cultural teams, across Europe, India, China and USA- Leads the Nokia Bangalore 6G research center- Nokia certified coach having coached and developed high performing employees globally She has been Instrumental in ramping up and setting up new product development groups, global lab service organization , R&D Cloud data centers, end-to-end test network infrastructure & services unit and transformation of organizations. Experienced in Partner management, leadership development, nurturing innovation and driving efficiency improvement programs and strategic decision making etc.She has successfully launched various programs across Indian universities and is committed to take the latest telecom technologies and research opportunities to the doorsteps of academic world.She is a recipient of IEEE Women Technologist of the year-2019.A strong leader and team player with good communication and interpersonal skills. Ponni did her computer science engineering from NIT Trichy and management from IIM BangalorePonni can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ponnikrishnamoorthy/

Bindhu Unny is a leadership coach, podcast host and Social Entrepreneur, who straddles various mediums giving all her work a unique stamp of inherent creativity. She has 20 years of global experience working for corporates in various high-performance roles that span across Software development, Enterprise Marketing, Product Design, Customer Experience and Sales. During the course of her corporate career, she realized that she loved connecting with people, and enjoyed the process of motivating them to step out of their comfort zone to realize their full potential. She has been successfully impacting the lives of many successful individuals through her corporate workshops, individual and group coaching and public workshops for over a decade.As a host of two podcasts - Unmasked and REConnecT, Bindhu dives beneath the surface to engage in authentic & enlightening conversations with passionate individuals and changemakers, inspiring listeners to discover their true purpose and follow their passion in life.Beyond her corporate endeavors, Bindhu is driven to make a lasting impact on the next generation. She is a Social Entrepreneur and is a co-founder of Leela-Loka which is a community initiative that actively explores open learning methods and empowers individuals to navigate growth by embracing continuous learning, unlearning, and relearning.Bindhu has also co-authored the book ‘The Virulent Virus' published on Kindle and the editor of the book “The Quest of Ruby” a metaphorical story of a life journey to self-actualization.When she is not working, Bindhu can often be seen performing at local art & theatre festivals, gardening, doing yoga and meditation.She is a qualified Instrumentation & Control Engineer along with a Masters in Business Administration. She is also a certified coach holding a CPCC (Certified Professional Co-Active Coach) from The Coaches training Institute (CTI) and is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF)Bindhu can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bindhuunny/ .

Our regular and long time listeners know that we dedicate the month of March every year for our special women guests.Welcome to the first special episode for March, 2025.In this episode, I am in conversation with Vidya Kabra, a Global Tech and QA leader with over 30 years of experience in the global IT industry.She talks about:  - Overcoming challenges from a traditional Marwadi family to pursue education and career.  - Early struggles with a startup due to lack of job opportunities in Maharashtra.  - Transition to corporate roles in Bangalore.  - Rapid growth from project management to leading quality for Toshiba worldwide.  - Challenges of managing family expectations and career aspirations.  - Importance of discipline, meditation, and effective time management.  - Utilizing domestic help and prioritizing quality time with children.  - Tips for women to communicate their career goals to family.  - Encouragement for women to pursue leadership and strategic roles in IT.  - Managing work from home vs. office dynamics.  - Creating a supportive home office environment.  - Leveraging work-from-home benefits for women in IT.  - How horizontal roles help in being more visible and enable Career Growth  - Encouragement for exploring various IT roles beyond development.  - Collaboration between developers and testers for improved quality.  - Career TipsVidya is a Global Tech and QA leader for around 30 years in IT industry driving Strategic Transformation at scale and Quality Automation for large Global Tech driven businesses at Wipro, Toshiba, Fiserv, HSBC, Intellect, Diebold Nixdorf. She thrived in new initiatives and reinvented herself multiple times - At Toshiba: Processes developed across functions. Looking at the simple and practical approach to process and management dashboards, she was given responsibility to lead Process management globally for Japan and Germany centers.  At Wipro: She led Global functions - 1) Process Simplification and audit Function with Lean and Agile techniques impacting 40 percent efforts saving 2) Engineering and Quality automation with 10X ROI globally for Wipro's 3000+ projects (2 patents filed on Quality engineering effectiveness). 3) Risk management function for 3 BUs.At Fiserv, Intellect Design Arena HSBC Core Banking , Diebold Nixdorf - Led Global Product and Process Quality Management, Audit & Delivery Excellence functions.All the functions and initiatives she led across above organizations resulted in sustainable quality in reduced efforts with happy and productive teams. Speed mentoring of teams for growth, Solution based practical approach to any problem and result oriented approach helped create high performing teams and functions.https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyakabra/

Sivaguru is in conversation with the serial author and colleague at PM Power, Paramu Kurumathur.They talk aboutThe trigger for the upcoming book is related to leadership.How this book builds on previous books but focuses on general leadership principles.The three aspects of leadership involving execution, business, and personal growth.Importance of reconciling leadership styles in different contexts.Holistic leadership that applies to both professional and personal contexts.Challenges and Solutions in Leadership:Handling conflicts and mediating between different opinions.Subordinating personal goals to team and organizational goals.Addressing behavioral expectations and public image as a leader.Thought Leadership:Book's Structure:About Paramuhttps://www.pm-powerconsulting.com/experts/parameswaran/https://www.linkedin.com/in/paramu-kurumathur-01489a6/Some related links on the book, for more details:Background and introduction to the book – 1Background and introduction to the book – 2Background and introduction to the book – 3Synopsis of the book – IntroductionSynopsis of the book – Leading BusinessSynopsis of the book – Leading ExecutionSynopsis of the book – Leading SelfSynopsis of the book – AIAdditional posts that could be of interest:Thoughts on Leadership – The Ashta Siddhis (eight super powers) of a leaderLeadership principles in the generative AI age

I am continuing this conversation with Rachana Shenoy, Engineering Leader HPE talks about balancing career growth, avid speaker and continuous learnerIn this part of the conversation, Rachana shares her stress and delivery pressures balancing it with employee engagement scores She shares some of the key techniques for budding managersCreating an environment of fun and accountability Embracing team members as a complete person rather than a skill or a resourceGen Z mindset doesn't like to be a follower and being a digital native - they need ability to channelize the reusability, validation and clean code principlesThankful for the amount of support that was available from enterprise firmsExtremely passionate about art, decor and that helps me to balance the profession and advocates strongly to have a passion projectRachana Shenoy is a Seasoned Engineering leader with over 18 years of Industry experience, currently working in the Hybrid Cloud Division at Hewlett Packard enterprise. In her current role she leads development teams for both On Prem and SaaS based Cloud Native Enterprise Scale Storage Management Solutions. Rachana is passionate about building self driven and motivated teams , enabling them to build innovative solutions addressing critical customer needs.Rachana has extensive experience in Domains like Storage, Server, Cloud, Distributed, Enterprise software development. Rachana is also a DEI evangelist and DEI Champion and has been contributing to various Diversity and Inclusion initiatives within and outside the organization. She is also an active member of Lean In Women In Tech community , and believes in paying it forward through community events and activities. In her free time Rachana loves to dabble in creative pursuits and is a passionate artist, crafter and art educator. She is also an avid traveler and loves to explore different places, diverse culture and cuisine.Rachana can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachana-shenoy-4014116a/

Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Rachana Shenoy, Engineering Leader HPE talks about balancing career growth, avid speaker and continuous learnerIn this part of the conversation, Started engineering as a natural choice due to the love of MathematicsStart at HP in the compiler and felt extremely overwhelmed and quickly found the mentor network She contrasts that with industry ready team members nowJoined EMC in their storage management solutions understanding interoperability of OS and hardware and had an organic growth to management Ownership and accountability and stakeholder management were key skills that she mentors every person.Change is the only constant thing around the roadmap, org structure and ensuring that fluidity needs to be embraced in a large enterprise organizationRachana shares tips and techniques on how leadership skills are imbibed through the career like clear communication, empathize with peopleRachana shares her tips on utilization of her time commuting within the Bengaluru for about 25 kmsShares how she's managing her balance using support system including her father in-law and team members that can be trustedRachana shares her decision while working in EMC during a particular acquisition and reflections that made her strongerRachana Shenoy is a Seasoned Engineering leader with over 18 years of Industry experience, currently working in the Hybrid Cloud Division at Hewlett Packard enterprise. In her current role she leads development teams for both On Prem and SaaS based Cloud Native Enterprise Scale Storage Management Solutions. Rachana is passionate about building self driven and motivated teams , enabling them to build innovative solutions addressing critical customer needs.Rachana has extensive experience in Domains like Storage, Server, Cloud, Distributed, Enterprise software development. Rachana is also a DEI evangelist and DEI Champion and has been contributing to various Diversity and Inclusion initiatives within and outside the organization. She is also an active member of Lean In Women In Tech community , and believes in paying it forward through community events and activities. In her free time Rachana loves to dabble in creative pursuits and is a passionate artist, crafter and art educator. She is also an avid traveller and loves to explore different places, diverse culture and cuisine.Rachana can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachana-shenoy-4014116a/

I continue my conversation with Hikari Senju, Founder and CEO of Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.In this part of the conversation, Hikari talks about:The need to focus on his customers - the advertisers' needsAdapting to new technologies and standards such as cookieless futureThe inspiration to start his current company OmnekyBuilding and nurturing a high-performing teamHis advice for aspiring software professionalsHikari Senju is a computer science graduate from Harvard University with a passion for technology and design.He founded his first startup, QuickHelp, an on-demand tutoring app, which he later sold to Yup.com and became their Head of Growth.During his time at Yup.com, Senju observed inefficiencies in content spending and the potential of AI in advertising, which inspired him to establish Omneky in 2018.Senju's background in computer science, entrepreneurship, and his experience with AI technologies led him to create Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hikari-senju-63780199/

I am in conversation with Hikari Senju, Founder and CEO of Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.In this part of the conversation, Hikari talks aboutHis background and how the influence of one of his uncles got him interested in computersHis serial entrepreneurship arc, with two successful startups and in his third ventureHis learnings from this experience on the importance of leadership, value brought by incubators, working on two sided markets, aspects related to personalization and privacyHikari Senju is a computer science graduate from Harvard University with a passion for technology and design.He founded his first startup, QuickHelp, an on-demand tutoring app, which he later sold to Yup.com and became their Head of Growth.During his time at Yup.com, Senju observed inefficiencies in content spending and the potential of AI in advertising, which inspired him to establish Omneky in 2018.Senju's background in computer science, entrepreneurship, and his experience with AI technologies led him to create Omneky, an AI platform that generates, analyzes, and optimizes personalized ad creatives at scale.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hikari-senju-63780199/

I continue my conversation with David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv. I asked David about how he thinks AI based approaches are likely to impact the customer experience.He shares how this can be used as a powerful tool to improve customer experience.He also talks about his new venture ContentLion that helps companies centralize and manage their contentHe touches upon aspects of data security and privacyHe shares his personal practices and some tips that help him stay focused and centered while also helping manage time.David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv, is a trailblazer in customer experience innovation. With over 25 years in the industry, he's transformed insights into substantial revenue for 500+ clients. A Harvard cum laude Engineering graduate, David's leadership has earned Motiv a spot on the Inc 5000 list. As president of The Entrepreneur's Association in Austin, he's dedicated to empowering fellow entrepreneurs. Beyond business, he's a devoted husband of 19 years and a passionate coach for his son's robotics team.More information about David can be found at Web site, https://www.davidqewinq.com , Motiv's website, https://motivcx.com  Linked In at Linkedin.com/in/davidgewing Listen on!

I am in conversation with David G Ewing, CEO of Motiv. In this first part of the conversation, David talks about:His initial days in Detroit, where he grew upMeeting the CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison and how that influenced some of his later decisions in choosing the area of workWhen building solutions, how and why technology under the hood has to be invisible, while focusing primarily on the user experienceUsing the customer journey mapping technique to better understand customer experiencesThe importance of the team being empathetic to customersListen on!I asked him about how he thinks some of the AI based approaches are likely to impact the customer experience.The answer to that and a lot more interesting topics in the next part of our conversation - in the next episode.Do not miss it.David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv, is a trailblazer in customer experience innovation. With over 25 years in the industry, he's transformed insights into substantial revenue for 500+ clients. A Harvard cum laude Engineering graduate, David's leadership has earned Motiv a spot on the Inc 5000 list. As president of The Entrepreneur's Association in Austin, he's dedicated to empowering fellow entrepreneurs. Beyond business, he's a devoted husband of 19 years and a passionate coach for his son's robotics team.More information about David can be found at his web site, https://www.davidqewinq.com , Motiv's website, https://motivcx.com  or on Linked In at Linkedin.com/in/davidgewing

I am in conversation with David G Ewing, CEO of Motiv. In this first part of the conversation, David talks about:His initial days in Detroit, where he grew upMeeting the CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison and how that influenced some of his later decisions in choosing the area of workWhen building solutions, how and why technology under the hood has to be invisible, while focusing primarily on the user experienceUsing the customer journey mapping technique to better understand customer experiencesThe importance of the team being empathetic to customersListen on!I asked him about how he thinks some of the AI based approaches are likely to impact the customer experience.The answer to that and a lot more interesting topics in the next part of our conversation - in the next episode.Do not miss it.David G. Ewing, CEO of Motiv, is a trailblazer in customer experience innovation. With over 25 years in the industry, he's transformed insights into substantial revenue for 500+ clients. A Harvard cum laude Engineering graduate, David's leadership has earned Motiv a spot on the Inc 5000 list. As president of The Entrepreneur's Association in Austin, he's dedicated to empowering fellow entrepreneurs. Beyond business, he's a devoted husband of 19 years and a passionate coach for his son's robotics team.More information about David can be found at his web site, https://www.davidqewinq.com , Motiv's website, https://motivcx.com  or on Linked In at Linkedin.com/in/davidgewing

I continue my conversation with Gorkem Ercan, founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.In this part of the conversation, Gorkem talks about:Time Management and Prioritization:for both personal and team work.Using visual tools like lists and boards to track and prioritize contributions.Acknowledging that priorities are constantly evolving and require continuous adjustment.The importance of Giving Back and Open Source Sustainability:Finding immense satisfaction in seeing his projects used by millions.Emphasizing the importance of economic sustainability for open source projects.Why Companies should consider how they can support the projects they rely on.Highlighting the misconception that open source is always "free" and the risks associated with this.Frustrations with Open Source:Unrealistic expectations from companies who demand immediate fixes from contributors.Security concerns and the lack of focus on secure supply chain practices in some projects.Resource constraints for open source projects in implementing and maintaining security measures.Work-Life Balance:Initially viewed open source contributions as a hobby, similar to other leisure activities.Acknowledges that open source contributions can be time-consuming and require careful consideration of work-life balance.Encouragement for Newcomers:Invites listeners to contribute to the kitops.ml project, which is supported by JozuEncourages contributions in various forms, including code, documentation, and moreGorkem Ercan is a founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.Gorkem is the creator of the wildly popular Eclipse JDT language server and vscode-java extension, as well as the YAML Language server and vscode-yaml extension. He is a committer on various projects, including Eclipse Che, Eclipse Theia and Apache Cordova. Gorkem is a member of the Eclipse Architecture Council, and he is one of the longest-serving Eclipse commiters.LinkedInl:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorkemercan/Website:https://jozu.com/link to the kitops.ml open source project https://kitops.ml/

I am in conversation with Gorkem Ercan, founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.In this conversation, Gorkem talks about:Gorkem's Background:Early interest in computersDiscovering open source while at university and starting to read other people's code.Beginning to contribute to open source projects and eventually published his ownSubsequent roles at Nokia and Red Hat involved significant open source work.He also shares Tips for Newcomers to Open Source:Being welcoming and patient, starting small, being prepared for asynchronous feedback.Keep an open mind, not gettng discouraged by rejection.Essential skills: Proficiency with Git and GitHub, understanding of community interaction platforms.His tips for Reviewing code:Functionality: Ensure the code works as intended and is bug-free.Style and consistency: Check if the code aligns with the project's coding style.Impact: Consider the potential impact on operations, users, and documentation.Clear communication: Include clear and concise commit messages.Gorkem Ercan is a founding Distinguished Engineer and CTO of Jozu. Gorkem has experience working and leading teams with various technologies ranging from building IDEs, to building mobile phones, and CI/CD systems. He is an avid contributor and supporter of open source.Gorkem is the creator of the wildly popular Eclipse JDT language server and vscode-java extension, as well as the YAML Language server and vscode-yaml extension. He is a committer on various projects, including Eclipse Che, Eclipse Theia and Apache Cordova. Gorkem is a member of the Eclipse Architecture Council, and he is one of the longest-serving Eclipse commiters.LinkedInl:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorkemercan/Website:https://jozu.com/link to the kitops.ml open source project https://kitops.ml/

I continue my conversation with Sophia Willows, the Head of Engineering at Rye, an a16z-backed developer tools startup making APIs for online commerce. At Rye, Sophia shapes the technical direction of the company and is responsible for building a high-performance engineering culture.In this part Sophia discusses the challenges of creating consistent and user-friendly APIs. She emphasizes the importance of involving developers early in the design process, using clear and consistent documentation, and leveraging tools like GraphQL to enforce structure and consistency.The conversation shifts to the impact of AI on the future of software development. While AI can automate certain tasks, it's unlikely to replace the need for human creativity and problem-solving skills. Sophia encourages developers to focus on higher-level thinking and domain expertise, which are areas where AI is less likely to make significant inroads.Finally, Sophia addresses the issue of burnout and the importance of finding a sustainable work-life balance. She suggests that developers should identify what energizes them and focus on those activities, whether they're technical or non-technical. By understanding their own motivations and setting realistic expectations, developers can thrive in the ever-evolving field of software engineering.Sophia Willows is the Head of Engineering at Rye, an a16z-backed developer tools startup making APIs for online commerce. At Rye, Sophia shapes the technical direction of the company and is responsible building a high-performance engineering culture.She previously worked in EdTech as Engineering Manager for Crimson Education's AI team. Designing and implementing their generative AI strategy, Sophia lead the development of solutions that enhanced the company's educational offerings and personalized student learning experiences. Just before she moved to Rye, Crimson secured a $1B market valuation.Sophia is a recognized figure in the tech community, frequently judging global hackathons and contributing to industry discussions through speaking engagements and blogging.Handles:* https://sophiabits.com/blog* https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-willows

Today, I am in conversation with Sophia Willows, the Head of Engineering at Rye, an a16z-backed developer tools startup making APIs for online commerce. At Rye, Sophia shapes the technical direction of the company and is responsible for building a high-performance engineering culture. She is a software engineer from New Zealand, shares her journey into the tech industry.Initially aspiring to be an astronaut, she pivoted towards computer science due to physical limitations. She gained early experience as a founding employee of a local startup, learning about the fast-paced nature of startups and the challenges of balancing academic commitments with work responsibilities.Sophia discusses the transition from academia to industry, highlighting the importance of strong communication and problem-solving skills. She emphasizes the need to understand the various stakeholders involved in a project, including business objectives, developer constraints, and end-user expectations.The conversation delves into the differences between building for developers and building for end-users. Sophia expresses her preference for building for developers, as it allows for a greater focus on code quality and technical excellence. However, she acknowledges the importance of considering the end-user experience, even indirectly.The final part of the conversation explores the challenges of creating APIs that are easy to use and understand for developers. Sophia discusses the importance of clear documentation, intuitive design, and active community engagement in ensuring a positive developer experience.Sophia Willows is the Head of Engineering at Rye, an a16z-backed developer tools startup making APIs for online commerce. At Rye, Sophia shapes the technical direction of the company and is responsible building a high-performance engineering culture.She previously worked in EdTech as Engineering Manager for Crimson Education's AI team. Designing and implementing their generative AI strategy, Sophia lead the development of solutions that enhanced the company's educational offerings and personalized student learning experiences. Just before she moved to Rye, Crimson secured a $1B market valuation.Sophia is a recognized figure in the tech community, frequently judging global hackathons and contributing to industry discussions through speaking engagements and blogging.Handles:* https://sophiabits.com/blog* https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-willows

In today's episode we have Chitra in conversation with Lekha Bajpai where she shares –Tech veteran of 30 plus yearsStarted her career in Calcutta with Deep Tech across many sectors like manufacturing, commercial apps, engineering aps and supply chainInspired by her father to study engineeringFirst project on inter machine communication protocols, the excitement of innovation Working on an experiment to build a control system to ship coalShowcasing use cases to the businessSupply chain software solutions – building was easy, convincing users and allaying their fears was the big challenge to roll out the solution across 350 locations in IndiaDeveloped strong experience with ERP implementations leading to building of data warehouses, BI reporting and monitoring apps for execsExperience at Kantar with challenges in data preparation and processing, working with just CPU's, expensive cloud resourcesHelping apps scale, developing market research products to support the entire data life cycle from collection to dashboardsEncouraging POC's and learning with data techniques Approaching AI today – Bring Your Own AI to work, encourage usage, take risks and also take care of Data privacy, protection, governance & complianceData bias challenges for IndiaAdvice to young folks aspiring for a career in AI – discover different AI personas, understand business catalysts, use AI tech, drive adoption of AI, besides only aspiring to build/develop AIM.Tech BIT Messra, Greenbelt Six Sigma, Strategic IT Management (IIM Ahmedabad), Enterprise Architecture, Certified Process Professional, Certified Data ScientistWith over 30 years of technology leadership experience, Lekha has been a thought leader and mentor in driving digital transformation and process automation across end-to-end processes and analytics.As a CIO/CTO and a Strategic Leader, she has led technology strategy functions for multiple units in APAC and MENA, as a member of the Executive Committee of Kantar IMRB. Delivered technology products and solutions to global & local clients, transforming IT into a strategic business partner.Worked on cutting-edge Technology adoption and Innovation, including cloud, big data environments, data warehouses & data lakes, to drive business improvements. Expertise spans across IT Strategy development & execution, Product & Application management for large scale applications & products on mobility, e-commerce, business analytics, social text analytics, chatbots, and image analysis using AI/ML and deep learning algorithms. Has Architected enterprise platforms for analytics delivery across diverse domains – Supply chain management, Logistics, Warehousing and freight forwarding, Chemical consultancy, Civil contracting, Manufacturing, Market research, Media and digital research, Social media analytics, Digital marketing and EdTech & Job Tech.Achieved Process Excellence within multiple organization and setup measure to monitor business process and growth. Achieved IT security processes like ISO27001 across various organizations. Streamlined IT services delivery across APAC using ITIL processes, Agile methodology & CMMI framework emphasizing on service availability and performance measurement.Accreditations and Contributions:Awarded the “Innovation Leader” Award by World Innovation Congress, featured in CIO Magazine “Top 30 – Ones to watch”, CIO & Leader Magazine as “11 Most Powerful Women in Tech in India” and a few others. Case study published in CIO Decisions & Network Computing, Logistics Magazine, Dataquest, & CIO Magazine. Presented technology papers at the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) on new age Technologies and won awards on “Best Analytics product” & “Best E2E Process Automation”. Actively involved as a technology expert speaker on multiple tech forums and colleges, project guide, evaluator, mentor for data science & technology students.

In today's episode we have Chitra in conversation with Lekha Bajpai where she shares -Tech veteran of 30 plus yearsStarted her career in Calcutta with Deep Tech across many sectors like manufacturing, commercial apps, engineering aps and supply chainInspired by her father to study engineeringFirst project on inter machine communication protocols, the excitement of innovation Working on an experiment to build a control system to ship coalShowcasing use cases to the businessSupply chain software solutions - building was easy, convincing users and allaying their fears was the big challenge to roll out the solution across 350 locations in IndiaDeveloped strong experience with ERP implementations leading to building of data warehouses, BI reporting and monitoring apps for execsExperience at Kantar with challenges in data preparation and processing, working with just CPU's, expensive cloud resourcesHelping apps scale, developing market research products to support the entire data life cycle from collection to dashboardsEncouraging POC's and learning with data techniques Approaching AI today - Bring Your Own AI to work, encourage usage, take risks and also take care of Data privacy, protection, governance & complianceData bias challenges for IndiaAdvice to young folks aspiring for a career in AI - discover different AI personas, understand business catalysts, use AI tech, drive adoption of AI, besides only aspiring to build/develop AIM.Tech BIT Messra, Greenbelt Six Sigma, Strategic IT Management (IIM Ahmedabad), Enterprise Architecture, Certified Process Professional, Certified Data ScientistWith over 30 years of technology leadership experience, Lekha has been a thought leader and mentor in driving digital transformation and process automation across end-to-end processes and analytics.As a CIO/CTO and a Strategic Leader, she has led technology strategy functions for multiple units in APAC and MENA, as a member of the Executive Committee of Kantar IMRB. Delivered technology products and solutions to global & local clients, transforming IT into a strategic business partner.Worked on cutting-edge Technology adoption and Innovation, including cloud, big data environments, data warehouses & data lakes, to drive business improvements. Expertise spans across IT Strategy development & execution, Product & Application management for large scale applications & products on mobility, e-commerce, business analytics, social text analytics, chatbots, and image analysis using AI/ML and deep learning algorithms. Has Architected enterprise platforms for analytics delivery across diverse domains - Supply chain management, Logistics, Warehousing and freight forwarding, Chemical consultancy, Civil contracting, Manufacturing, Market research, Media and digital research, Social media analytics, Digital marketing and EdTech & Job Tech.Achieved Process Excellence within multiple organization and setup measure to monitor business process and growth. Achieved IT security processes like ISO27001 across various organizations. Streamlined IT services delivery across APAC using ITIL processes, Agile methodology & CMMI framework emphasizing on service availability and performance measurement.Accreditations and Contributions:Awarded the “Innovation Leader” Award by World Innovation Congress, featured in CIO Magazine “Top 30 - Ones to watch”, CIO & Leader Magazine as “11 Most Powerful Women in Tech in India” and a few others. Case study published in CIO Decisions & Network Computing, Logistics Magazine, Dataquest, & CIO Magazine. Presented technology papers at the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) on new age Technologies and won awards on “Best Analytics product” & “Best E2E Process Automation”. Actively involved as a technology expert speaker on multiple tech forums and colleges, project guide, evaluator, mentor for data science & technology students.

Shiv continues his conversation with Greg Foster, Cofounder and CTO of graphite.dev.Greg sharesAI's Role in Code Review:AI as a Code Reviewer: AI can identify simple bugs, stylistic issues, and potential inconsistencies.Limitations of AI: AI struggles with complex reasoning, understanding context, and making creative decisions.Human-AI Collaboration: Humans are still essential for high-level understanding, architectural decisions, and complex problem-solving.AI-Enhanced Documentation: AI can help maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation.AI's Potential in Testing and Debugging: AI can assist in identifying potential issues in complex systems, especially those with external dependencies.Career Advice for Developers:Embrace AI as a Tool: AI can augment developer capabilities, not replace them.Focus on Human Skills: Strong communication, problem-solving, and project management skills remain crucial.Continuous Learning: Stay updated with emerging technologies and trends.Find Your Flow: Create an environment that supports focused work and minimizes distractions.

In this episode Shiv is in conversation with Greg Foster, Cofounder and CTO of graphite.dev.This is the first part, Greg talks aboutHis Journey into Software:Early Days: Started coding in high school, selling iPhone apps.College and Early Career: Studied CS, worked at Airbnb, learned infrastructure and on-call duties.Founding Graphite: Co-founded Graphite with friends to build developer tools.Passion for Developer Experience: Enjoys building tools that improve software development workflows.Key Points:On-Call Experiences: Loved the challenge and responsibility of on-call work, but also experienced the frustrations of dealing with user issues and developer mistakes.Building a Startup: Balancing technical work with business operations, hiring, and team culture.Graphite's Mission: Improving developer productivity by focusing on code review and collaboration tools, inspired by best practices from large tech companies.AI Integration: Exploring AI-powered tools to enhance code review and analysis.https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregmfoster/

This Episode marks six years of the podcast ! Thanks to all your love and support.In today's conversation we have all our three hosts Sivaguru Gayatri and Chitra reflecting their own personal and professional S-curves .They also ideate on what could be coming up next for the podcast.Happy listening!!

In this episode, Gayatri is in conversation with Santana Krishnan.(SK)SK talks aboutHow he started building his own self from the educational perspective in Kochi.Built his firm for independent organization which was creating early wins using agile as a way of workingMoving to ThoughtWorks and then currently consulting with many organizations' in the advisory capacity as well as executive coach.How these leaps of faith during various transitions coincides with both professional and Personal lifeHow is spiritual journey has transcended over decades.How time has helped him realize his decisions..Enjoy the conversations!

Today Gayatri is in conversation with Srini on his personal and professional s-curves, whereHe talks about his multiple decades of career span across geographies.He talks about S-curves that failed and succeeded.He also constantly gives a very good framework of thought processes on how you have to think. When you move up the ladder.He covers around why, what is the intention behind choosing the next level , the effort it needs and the time you should give for the same to materialize understanding the risks associated.He also talks about the need for a mentor or a coach.Happy Listening!!.

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague and Coach at PM Power, Mohan Ram..In this conversation, Mohan touches upon various topics, including:S Curves in Personal and Professional LifeConscious vs. Unconscious S CurvesThe Importance of Support SystemsLetting Go and Moving OnPreparing for New RolesRetrospective AnalysisThe Impact of Rapid ChangeThe Importance of PerspectiveLeveraging Organizational ResourcesHumility and LearningThe Role of Reflection and Self-AwarenessThe Power of Mentorship

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague and Coach at PM Power, Anantha Natarajan. In this conversation, Anand, as he prefers to be called, shared various significant S-curves in his personal and professional life includingDecision to enter the software industry,Migrating to Australia, Pursuing an MBA, and Transitioning to a leadership role. He emphasized the importance of considering multiple dimensions beyond career goals, such as personal growth, family relationships, and financial stability.

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague and  Coach at PM Power, Gopalan.In this conversation, Gopal shares:some Specific S-Curves:Transitioning from Home to Hostel: This early experience fostered independence and adaptability.Shifting from Academics to Professional Life: Adapting to the different demands and expectations of the professional world.Evolving Roles: Taking on leadership positions, managing teams, and transitioning from technical roles to business management.Navigating Organizational Changes: Adapting to changes within organizations, such as mergers, restructurings, and shifts in company direction.Building a Startup: The challenges and rewards of founding and leading a startup.

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague, Coach and serial author, Paramu Kurumathur.In this conversation, Paramu shares some specific S-Curve in his life:School Change: Moving from Trivandrum to Calicut presented challenges like adapting to a new language, culture, and classmates.IIT Entrance and College: Entering IIT brought Paramu face-to-face with high competition, where everyone was a topper.Job Market Challenges: With limited job opportunities for Aerospace Engineers in India, Paramu had to choose between a scholarship abroad with an unrecognized degree or a less promising job.Shifting Gears to Computer Science: This was a major turning point where luck played a role. An available seat in computer science due to others' choices opened a new path for Paramu.Tata Burroughs and Corporate Life: This was another big change, requiring adjustments like dressing professionally. Paramu navigated these changes while building new friendships.Marriage, Children, and Work-Life Balance: These personal milestones presented new challenges alongside professional ones.Job Stagnation and Transition to Digital: Feeling stuck in his US job, Paramu found a pull factor in the challenge of setting up a GCC for digital right Unix development.Startup and NGO: Foray into a startup (Bell Soft) wasn't successful, coinciding with an industry downturn. He then transitioned to a contrasting role at Action Aid, an NGO.Leadership and Scaling: Paramu's roles at Action Aid and Bell Soft involved leadership responsibilities, scaling up operations, and navigating organizational challenges.Entrepreneurship: His entrepreneurial ventures, including the startup, demonstrate his willingness to take risks and pursue new opportunities.https://www.linkedin.com/in/paramu-kurumathur-01489a6/

I continue my conversation with Ben Johnson, the CEO of Particle 41, a company that provides fractional CTO services, software development, data science, data engineering, and AI solutionsIn this part, Ben talks about:The importance of user adoption for successful technology implementation.The challenges and benefits of agile development in contract-based projects.The value of personal practices like journaling and mindfulness for maintaining composure and productivity.Career advice for aspiring technologists, including the importance of continuous learning and specializing in niche areas.The enduring value of expertise and the opportunities created by emerging technologies like AI and blockchain.Benjamin Johnson, CEO & Founder @ Particle41Benjamin Johnson is a serial technical co-founder with a track record of success and hands-on open-source programming experience. He has a wide range of being both a board-level advisor and founder but also an in-depth understanding of how things work. Through his 20+ years as a software developer and leader, he has gained extensive experience with remotely distributed development teams and business hacks.Benjamin is the CEO & Founder of Particle41, a dev firm founded by industry veterans that aims to help companies accelerate their initiatives through Software Development, DevOps, and Data Science.With a constant focus on results and ways to improve, Benjamin is having fun building highly scalable and highly secure applications.https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrjohnson/

I am in conversation with Ben Johnson, the CEO of Particle 41, a company that provides fractional CTO services, software development, data science, data engineering, and AI solutionsSome of the highlights from the conversation are:How he started programming on the Commodore 64Starting a travel company and getting hands on experience with building and managing IT infrastructureWorking in different business domainsThe importance of being adaptable and embracing new technologies.The value of listening to customers and understanding their needs.The need to balance technology adoption with practical considerations.The importance of building strong relationships and networks.The role of personality traits in successful partnerships.The importance of building a strong team culture and focusing on employee engagement.The need for quality assurance and DevOps practices in software development.Benjamin JohnsonCEO & Founder @ Particle41Benjamin Johnson is a serial technical co-founder with a track record of success and hands-on open-source programming experience. He has a wide range of being both a board-level advisor and founder but also an in-depth understanding of how things work. Through his 20+ years as a software developer and leader, he has gained extensive experience with remotely distributed development teams and business hacks.Benjamin is the CEO & Founder of Particle41, a dev firm founded by industry veterans that aims to help companies accelerate their initiatives through Software Development, DevOps, and Data Science.With a constant focus on results and ways to improve, Benjamin is having fun building highly scalable and highly secure applications.https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrjohnson/

I continue my conversation with Douglas Ferguson, an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist. He is the president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through various programs.In this part of the conversation, Douglas shares his story related to:Voltage Control: A facilitation academy focused on developing collaborative leaders.Facilitation skills: Valuable for individuals in various roles, not just facilitators.Community building: Emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and shared values.Entrepreneurial journey: Douglas's experiences in starting and growing Voltage Control.Leadership development: The importance of facilitation skills for effective leadership.And finally, he shares career tips for those aspiring to be facilitators.Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist with over 26 years of experience. He is president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through certifications, workshops, and organizational coaching focused on facilitation mastery, innovation, and play. He has helped transform leaders, innovators, and creatives from Nike, U.S. SOCOM, Google, the Air Force, Gap, Tesla, MSU, Church & Dwight, Apple, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC.Prior to Voltage Control, Douglas held CTO positions at numerous Austin startups, where he led product and engineering teams using agile, lean, and human-centered design principles. While CTO at Twyla, Douglas worked directly with Google Ventures running Design Sprints, and now brings this experience and process to companies everywhere.Douglas is currently active in the Austin startup community, where he serves on the board of several non-profits, mentors startups, and advises early-stage ventures.Douglas is a thought leader and often writes and talks about facilitation, leadership, collaboration, innovation, culture, meetings, and Design Sprints. He is also the author of four books: Magical Meetings, Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within, He has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Innovation Leader, and is a regular contributor to The Future Shapers. He publishes a weekly podcast called Facilitation Lab.When not facilitating or coaching facilitators, you might find Douglas patching up his Modular Synth, boxing, doing pilates, and taking photographs. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Douglas may be contacted at::https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasferguson/

I am in conversation with Douglas Ferguson. Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist. He is the president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through various programs.In this part of the conversation, Douglas shares his story related to:Douglas's journey: From individual contributor to leader, emphasizing the importance of understanding and empathy in building successful teams.Teamwork and collaboration: Discusses storytelling, creating a positive culture, and the challenges and opportunities of working with distributed and cross-cultural teams.Effective meeting practices: Highlights the value of rituals, storytelling, and focusing on generation and exploration.Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist with over 26 years of experience. He is president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through certifications, workshops, and organizational coaching focused on facilitation mastery, innovation, and play. He has helped transform leaders, innovators, and creatives from Nike, U.S. SOCOM, Google, the Air Force, Gap, Tesla, MSU, Church & Dwight, Apple, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC.Prior to Voltage Control, Douglas held CTO positions at numerous Austin startups, where he led product and engineering teams using agile, lean, and human-centered design principles. While CTO at Twyla, Douglas worked directly with Google Ventures running Design Sprints, and now brings this experience and process to companies everywhere.Douglas is currently active in the Austin startup community, where he serves on the board of several non-profits, mentors startups, and advises early-stage ventures.Douglas is a thought leader and often writes and talks about facilitation, leadership, collaboration, innovation, culture, meetings, and Design Sprints. He is also the author of four books: Magical Meetings, Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within, He has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Innovation Leader, and is a regular contributor to The Future Shapers. He publishes a weekly podcast called Facilitation Lab.When not facilitating or coaching facilitators, you might find Douglas patching up his Modular Synth, boxing, doing Pilates, and taking photographs. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Douglas may be contacted at::https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasferguson/

I continue my conversation with Karthik Viswanathan, the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm that specializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process optimizationIn this part, Karthik delves deeper into the challenges and opportunities within government IT. He discusses the complexities of balancing top-down mandates with bottom-up needs, particularly in large, decentralized organizations.Key points:Government structure: The unique structure of government, with different levels (federal, state, local) and political cycles, impacts IT initiatives.Technology adoption: While there is a growing recognition of technology's importance, the pace of adoption is slower than the private sector due to budgetary constraints, procurement processes, and risk aversion.Talent management: Government agencies face challenges in attracting and retaining IT talent, especially in comparison to the private sector.Intergovernmental collaboration: There's potential for increased collaboration and data sharing between government entities, but challenges remain in terms of standards, security, and trust.Consulting and government: Karthik discusses his experience in consulting for government agencies, highlighting the need for understanding the unique dynamics of the public sector.Overall, the conversation emphasizes the complexities and opportunities within government IT, providing insights into the challenges and potential solutions.Karthik Viswanathan is the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm thatspecializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process optimization.He was previously the Vice President for Development & Strategy for AIinGov responsible for driving strategic partnerships and relationships to accelerate the time to market and operational efficiencies for AIinGov's customers. Prior to that, Karthik served in senior IT leadership roles in State and Municipal governments. He was the Assistant Secretary for Technology Services & Security to help streamline IT services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts including CIO roles for Labor & Workforce and Department of Revenue. Karthik has also served as CIO for the City of Somerville.He holds engineering degrees from the University of Mumbai and Texas A&M University, and an MBA from Northeastern University.LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaviswan/

I am in conversation with Karthik Viswanathan, the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm that specializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process optimizationIn this part of the conversation, Karthik shares:Karthik's career path:Started in IT after college in Bombay (now Mumbai)Worked in tech support for a university in the USJoined a research company (GTE Labs, now part of Verizon) focused on telecom technologiesTransitioned from research to government work focusing on applying technology to improve citizen servicesGovernment vs. Private Sector:Government projects can have a larger social impactFunding for government projects is based on impact and efficiency, not ROIUser experience (UX) is becoming increasingly important in government services, especially after the COVID-19 pandemicCloud migration and low-code/no-code development are accelerating innovation in governmentKey points about impact in government projects:Needs to consider a "long tail" of users with diverse needsFocuses on human impact and reducing frustration for citizensMust balance efficiency and initial investment costsShifting landscape of government technology:From building systems for internal needs to user-centered designCloud migration enabling faster and more scalable solutionsRise of low-code/no-code development for quicker implementationKarthik Viswanathan is the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm thatspecializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process optimization.He was previously the Vice President for Development & Strategy for AIinGov responsible for driving strategic partnerships and relationships to accelerate the time to market and operational efficiencies for AIinGov's customers. Prior to that, Karthik served in senior IT leadership roles in State and Municipal governments. He was the Assistant Secretary for Technology Services & Security to help streamline IT services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts including CIO roles for Labor & Workforce and Department of Revenue. Karthik has also served as CIO for the City of Somerville.He holds engineering degrees from the University of Mumbai and Texas A&M University, and an MBA from Northeastern University.LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaviswan/

Sivaguru continues the conversation with Ravi Krishnappa, managing partner at July Ventures.In this part, he shares his thoughts as belowEmphasizes that his curiosity drives him to understand new concepts deeply, particularly through teaching.How teaching others can enhance one's own understanding, He says that having ideas alone is not sufficient. Successful outcomes depend on understanding and addressing the underlying practical and behavioral aspects related to those ideas.Effective problem-solving requires being aware of current market conditions and issues. Entrepreneurship requires a strong sense of conviction to push beyond one's comfort zone.Feeling uncomfortable is a natural and beneficial part of starting something new, as it keeps you alert and engaged.: Entrepreneurs often experience a transition from uncertainty to clarity, where they feel confident in their decision to pursue a venture.He speaks about various challenges in entrepreneurial journeyFinally he talks about the career tipsRavi Krishnappa is a Venture Capital professional, an Entrepreneur & an avid teacher with 35+ years of experience over 2 dozen start-ups in his portfolio.  He is currently the managing partner at July Ventures (www.julyventures.com) He is a mechanical engineer who moved onto the IT sector and is a thought leader in the area of digital applications for the industry. Over the last 30+ years he has worked in several countries including the US, UK and Switzerland. His first startup was acquired by Oracle, and he was subsequently it's global Executive Director. He sold his second venture which was in supply chain applications to a publicly listed company. Since 2010, he has been working to develop the Entrepreneurial eco-system, particularly in incubating ideas and working with early stage startups and their founders as a CEO coach. He is a board director and an advisory member in a number of startups. He has been an active member in several industry associations including TIE. He is also a trustee at several NGOs working on causes ranging from education to public transparency.

Sivaguru is in conversation with Ravi Krishnappa, managing partner at July Ventures. He talks aboutHow he Started as a mechanical engineer and ERP consultant, then co-founded Accel Venture Partners and Inatech. Transitioned to angel investing and is now a partner at July Ventures, focusing on B2B tech startups. He also attributes his success to an intense curiosity and a broad interest in various fields, rather than deep specialization.He also believes both nature (innate curiosity) and nurture (experiences and opportunities) play roles in personal developmentHe also taks about  learning the intersection of finance and engineering, and addressing inefficiencies in ERP systems, which shaped their business mindset and approach..He also talks about developed a solution to locally print data from a mainframe system, leading to a significant licensing deal with Unisys EMEA.He reflects on how recognizing and seizing opportunities, even if not fully realized, has influenced his entrepreneurial journey.The experience of seeing potential improvements and wanting more control motivated their shift to entrepreneurshipRavi Krishnappa is a Venture Capital professional, an Entrepreneur & an avid teacher with 35+ years of experience over 2 dozen start-ups in his portfolio.  He is currently the managing partner at July Ventures (www.julyventures.com) He is a mechanical engineer who moved onto the IT sector and is a thought leader in the area of digital applications for the industry. Over the last 30+ years he has worked in several countries including the US, UK and Switzerland. His first startup was acquired by Oracle, and he was subsequently it's global Executive Director. He sold his second venture which was in supply chain applications to a publicly listed company. Since 2010, he has been working to develop the Entrepreneurial eco-system, particularly in incubating ideas and working with early stage startups and their founders as a CEO coach. He is a board director and an advisory member in a number of startups. He has been an active member in several industry associations including TIE. He is also a trustee at several NGOs working on causes ranging from education to public transparency.

This marks 300 episodes of the Software People Stories. The journey has been very enriching. But more of that, in a few weeks, when we complete six years of the podcast.In addition, the guest today is a person who has been a mentor to me and whose qualities technically and as a leader, I admire.I continue my conversation with Gunaseelan Narayanan, known as Guna. Guna is an executive coach with a long career in IT before that.In this conversation, he talks aboutTransition from Project Leader to Delivery Excellence Leader, initial challenges with management style to embracing new technologies and effectively leading high-performing engineering teams.He also emphasizes the difference in project timelines between internal R&D and global customerThe importance of empathy, communication, and tailored processes in effectively aligning different divisions or lines of business within an organization, especially in a complex matrix organizational structure.How his career  was marked by diverse opportunities across different sectors , each offering valuable learning experiences and professional development.His journey into coaching and leadership development, emphasizing the shift from directive management to coaching and the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in his career.His Career Advice,  and explanation of ethics in TechnologyGuna has over three decades of experience in the Information Technology industry. Currently he is an Executive Coach, helping senior executives enhance their leadership capabilities.He started his career as a software engineer in R&D department of Hindustan Computers Limited in 1979. He held various technical and managerial roles in HCL R&D and HCL-HP R&D before transitioning to HCL Technologies. In HCL Technologies he was in key delivery and business leadership roles including head of Engineering and R&D Services Line of Business and head of Delivery Excellence.Guna holds M.Tech. degree in Computer Science and B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering, both from IIT Madras. He is a certified Executive Coach from Coaching Foundation India. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunaseelan-narayanan-13246b23/

This is a special episode for me, personally.This marks 300 episodes of the Software People Stories. The journey has been very enriching. But more of that, in a few weeks, when we complete six years of the podcast.In addition, the guest today is a person who has been a mentor to me and whose qualities technically and as a leader, I admire.I am in conversation with Gunaseelan Narayanan, known as Guna. Guna is an executive coach with a long career in IT before that.In this conversation, he talks aboutTwo phases of his careerStarting with FORTRAN programming and transitioning into microprocessorsHis career at HCL - the only company he was associated with throughout his careerShifting to creating user focused solutions and telecom areasGaining experience with multi-national partnershipsGuna has over three decades of experience in the Information Technology industry. Currently he is an Executive Coach, helping senior executives enhance their leadership capabilities. He started his career as a software engineer in R&D department of Hindustan Computers Limited in 1979. He held various technical and managerial roles in HCL R&D and HCL-HP R&D before transitioning to HCL Technologies. In HCL Technologies he was in key delivery and business leadership roles including head of Engineering and R&D Services Line of Business and head of Delivery Excellence.Guna holds M.Tech. degree in Computer Science and B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering, both from IIT Madras. He is a certified Executive Coach from Coaching Foundation India https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunaseelan-narayanan-13246b23/

In this conversation, Sapna Jhaver, Technology Leader is in conversation with Chitra Gurjar where she shares various perspectives on -- Gen Alpha - their role as influencers, their thoughts and virtual influence of Generative AI- Moving into leadership roles and how her theatre experience helped her with playing, understanding leadership- Becoming inward focused to manage orthodoxy, perceptions and accepting herself- Providing her narrative for her future self- Messages for people aspiring to make a career in tech with dedicating time to learn, exposing ones' mind to different roles and using principles of running a business to learn about leadershipSapna Jhawer is a Retail Technology leader known for her fusion of innovation, empathy, and resilience. As a technology leader with over two decades of experience, she is known for her strategic vision, collaborative leadership style, and commitment to driving positive change. Sapna's passion for equity and storytelling fuels her mission to empower teams, foster innovation, and create a lasting impact on society. Her authentic approach, coupled with her expertise in retail technology, makes her a trusted advisor and thought leader in her field

In this conversation, Sapna Jhaver, Technology Leader is in conversation with Chitra Gurjar where she shares various perspectives on -- Wanting to first get into a business, thanks to being from a mainly business family- Wanting to do Chartered Accounting so she could start a business, then being peer-pressured into doing Electronics engineering- Switching mindsets from testing to development to understanding how developers first want to get things done, make them work and then test code- Taking on customer facing roles and getting into minutiae about customers in retail- Managing customer expectations and how technology can give an experience of look and feel, fit and experience of online retail shoppingSapna Jhawer is a Retail Technology leader known for her fusion of innovation, empathy, and resilience. As a technology leader with over two decades of experience, she is known for her strategic vision, collaborative leadership style, and commitment to driving positive change. Sapna's passion for equity and storytelling fuels her mission to empower teams, foster innovation, and create a lasting impact on society. Her authentic approach, coupled with her expertise in retail technology, makes her a trusted advisor and thought leader in her field

I continue my conversation with C Subramanian - more affectionately known as CS in his circles,  an accomplished banker turned IT professional, with international experience.CS - C Subramanian's story is one of resilience, adaptation, and continuous learning. From his humble beginnings, he sought stability through education and found unexpected opportunities in the banking sector. Despite facing objections, he embraced the chance to join Canara Bank and eventually transitioned into the IT field within the organization.His journey into IT was marked by challenges and learning experiences, particularly during the implementation of banking software. CS emphasized the importance of understanding banking requirements and effectively communicating them to software developers. He highlighted the pivotal role of taking on computer courses reimbursed by the bank, which opened doors to new career paths.As he moved into project management, CS encountered new challenges but remained determined to succeed. He emphasized the significance of upgrading skills, adapting to new roles, and fostering teamwork. Throughout his narrative, CS underscored the importance of self-confidence, perseverance, and continuous self-improvement in achieving career growth.CS's story serves as a testament to the power of resilience, learning, and seizing opportunities, even in the face of doubts and obstacles. His emphasis on teamwork and mentorship underscores the value of collaboration and support in professional development. Overall, CS's journey offers valuable insights for navigating career transitions and achieving success in the ever-evolving landscape of the IT sector.A post graduate in Chemistry, worked in a public sector Bank for nearly 30 years and then moved to IT industry in  BFSI. Handled various Banking  projects for nearly 10 years in middle east and India in roles of  Domain expert and Project Management. Lives in BengaluruHe may be reached at: chellappa_subramanian@yahoo.co.in