Achieving Excellence with Naresh Choudhary

In this episode, Shiv is in conversation with Naresh Choudhary, Senior Vice President, Quality & Productivity, Infosys Ltd.

Naresh shares his career journey starting from humble beginnings in Mumbai, studying engineering at VJTI, working at Arvind Mills, and eventually contributing to Infosys for 25 years. The discussion covers his transition from manufacturing to IT, the influence of mentors, various roles at Infosys, and the importance of reframing roles. Naresh also emphasizes the value of great work, networking, mentorship, and maintaining a work-life balance. He talks about driving innovation and change management effectively within a large organization through transparent communication, planning, and continuous feedback. Finally, Naresh offers personal practices like journaling, exercising, and separating work from family time to stay grounded and calm.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:23 Early Career and Education

02:00 Transition to Infosys

03:43 Roles and Responsibilities at Infosys

07:16 Mentorship and Career Growth

10:28 Defining Great Work

15:32 Overcoming Self-Doubt and Imposter Syndrome

19:28 The Importance of Mentors

24:23 Networking and Time Management

29:19 Clearing the Mind for Focus

29:51 Work-Life Balance and Breaks

30:59 Organizational Change and Trust

33:51 Planning and Transparency in Change

34:51 Process Over Tools

36:04 Sponsorship and Milestone Reviews

37:46 Encouraging Knowledge Sharing

43:58 Innovation and Idea Management

47:33 Staying Grounded Amidst Responsibilities

53:00 Personal Practices for Balance

56:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Bio:

In his stint at Infosys over 2 decades, Naresh has worked in different roles in Software Delivery, Consulting, Quality Assurance, Open Source, Enterprise Platforms, Products, Tools & Technology that have provided him opportunities to work on key transformation programs.

Naresh has experience in Software Development, Quality System Design, Process definition, Implementation and Consulting, Product & Platform Engineering, Software Reuse, Knowledge Management, Training, Audits and Assessments. He possesses a sound understanding of various quality models, methodologies and frameworks like CMMI, ISO, Six Sigma, MBNQA, AI, Automation,  Agile, DevSecOps & SRE.

Naresh participates on several product councils and advisory boards with Infosys’ global technology partners and is currently leading the effort on reimagining the tooling, engineering excellence, digital platforms, Lean and automation landscape for the enterprise

He is a self confessed Foodie, History enthusiast, Amateur Chef, Motivational Speaker

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nareshchoudhary/