In this episode, Victor Jayakaran- shares his story and experiences related to:
- His graduation from the Madras Institute of Technology and post graduation from the Indian Institute of Science
- Getting a campus placement at ITI and applying for a job with ISRO
- On his guide NJ Rao’s suggestion, choosing to join a small and growing company, Wipro
- Joining Wipro in August 1979 and starting work at an IISc lab
- Being part of the team that decided what systems to go for
- Working on technology transfer, with a view to make it as ready to use as possible for their customers
- Moving on to a hardware specific role, doing everything from system design, testing, purchasing the BOM
- Interfacing with the Govt. of Karnataka for setting up the Mysore factory
- Moving to Mysore as part of the team that set up the facility
- Returning to bangalore in 1983 - 88 MG Road
- Being into hardware, subsystems design etc
- When Wipro Systems Limited was set up, moving a part of that team
- Getting back to Wipro Infotech
- Hardware, software [OS port], to VLSI technologies
- Exploring opportunities in VLSI design
- Recalling that he had the best bosses in all his roles
- GL, purchasing, sales processing etc apps as part of delivering computers that can be readily used
- On taking up and playing different roles across organizational functions
- Experience of working with other organizations that operate at different paces
- Working in an open culture, where everyone’s ideas and experience are welcome
- Working 18 hour days - in a charged up atmosphere, as part of a very small team
- Getting opportunities to meet customers, when they had issues!
- Making problems into an advantage
- Techie customers like to buy from techies, rather than sales roles
- His experience of working with Japanese customers, who were very detail oriented
- Growing to be a leader of others who were peers till the previous day
- Learning to be objective in assessments and sharing reinforcing feedback
- On the emphasis on processes in Wipro, that helped doing things systematically and consistently
- The friendship bonds that kept him in the organization over time
- The courage a leader needs to bring in the right people as well as be ready to let go of people who don't fit
- About the experience of a spin-in, that could not meet the initial set business goals
- One important ingredient for startup success: fire in the belly
- How technologically deep should a leader be? The team should be confident of your vision
- Genuineness of the leader is critical to build a successful team
- His experience and views on work-life balance, particularly after getting married
- Getting an advice from one of his bosses about working Smart v/s working hard
- His career tips for entry level and mid career IT professionals
- Enjoy the work
- build camaraderie
Victor Jayakaran, did his B.Sc (Physics), at A.M. Jain College, Madras. He then did his graduation in Electronics From the Madras Institute of Technology. He then did his M.E. from the School of Automation, at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 1979. He then started with Wipro as their first employee, to be part of Wipro’s Information Technology Business. He was with Wipro for more than 20 years, from 1979 starting off as their first employee (R&D Engineer), till 2000, when he was the Vice President of Engg at EnThink, Wipro’s startup venture. He then left them in May 2000, to join SCM India as President of its India operations, which was one of the two core development centers, worldwide, in the domain of Digital Media and Smart Card readers and terminals. Then in 2006 he stepped out of SCM to create SCOLIS Technologies which later was acquired by the Identiv Group and merged with his former company SCM. He headed the new Identiv Tech Center in India, located in Chennai till 2016, when he retired from hands-on operations.
Victor is married to Sunithy, and they have two grown up children, both of whom are married and are blessed with four grand children. Victor and Sunithy as part of the team of trustees, started and are running Amazing Love Home, a home for the elderly near Chennai, since 2009.
Victor may be contacted at: vjayakaran@gmail.com