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/